Dictionary of American Regional English: A-C v. 1 [Illustrated] 9780674205116, 0674205111

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Dictionary of

AMERICAN REGIONAL ENGLISH ,t

r>t

Frederic GXassidy Chief Editor Volume

I

$49.95

until

December

31, 1985;

$60.00 thereafter

"The most

exciting linguistic project going on in

the United States."

— William The

Satire,

New

York Times

American people

folk expressions of the

are part

of the nation's heritage, as varied as the land

itself.

The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) gives words and phrases not found in standard dictionaries

and out-of-the-way meanings for

common

terms:

colloquialisms peculiar to certain parts of the country

and sometimes

to particular social or ethnic groups.

This monumental work, decades stunning proof of the diversity

in preparation, offers

— and

—

the vitality

of the language Americans speak.

Here are

local

to frying

names

pans

for familiar objects,

to dust-balls

from old cars

under the bed (176 names

for these); for creatures real

and imaginary; for

rain-

storms and heat waves; for foods, clothing, children's

games, and

Here terms — — by which people describe each

tional remedies.

morous

and

adults' pastimes; for illnesses

are

tradi-

hu-

salty, sarcastic,

other, their

physical appearance, character, emotions,

of

states

mind. Here are metaphors and similes galore. In

Wisconsin a man whose motives are suspect "has

beans up his nose." In Georgia a conceited person

is

"biggity"; someone important or self-important

in

the

Northwest

is

"bull of the

woods."

A

close friend

may be a "bobbasheely" (Mississippi) or an "ace boon coon" (New York City). West of the Appalachians the old saw "I wouldn't know him from Adam" becomes "I wouldn't know him from Adam's off-ox" (or, in the South, "from Adam's housecat"). These and some twelve thousand other expressions are identified and explained

While

owes

in the first

DARE

its

is

the

volume of DARE.

work of many dedicated people,

existence to Frederic G. Cassidy,

who

in

agreed to organize the project, raise funds for

it

1963

and

it,

serve as editor-in-chief. Cassidy trained teams of field-

workers and equipped them with a carefully worded questionnaire:

1,847 questions grouped in 41 broad

categories ranging over most aspects of everyday

and

common human

experience.

the fieldworkers conducted

From 1965

to

life

1970

week-long interviews with (continued on back flap)

ISBN D-b7M-ED511-l

Dictionary of American Regional English

Dictionary of

American Regional English Volume

I

Introduction and

A-C

Frederic G. Cassidy Chief Editor

The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England

1985

A-C

—

Copyright

©

1985 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

987654321

10

This book

is

printed

on

acid-free paper,

and

its

binding materials

have been chosen for strength and durability.

Designed by Marianne Perlak Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Main

entry under

title:

Dictionary of American regional English. Contents:

v.

1.

Introduction and A-C.

— Provincialisms — United States — Dialects — United States — Dictionaries. English language — United States — Dictionaries. Cassidy, Frederic Gomes, 1.

English language

Dictionaries.

2.

English language 3. I.

1907-

PE2843.D52

427'.973

1985

ISBN 0-674-2051

1-1 (v.

1:

alk.

paper)

84-29025

DARE Staff, Volume

CHIEF EDITOR Frederic G. Cassidy

I

Robert Keenan (wv)

Lida Wagner Michael Williamson

B.

J.

Keene (ar)

Sheila Y. Kolstad (ky, il)

ADJUNCT EDITOR Audrey R. Duckert

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Joan H. Hall

OFFICE

Hans

MANAGER

Diane Kutzko (il) Michael Lampman (ga, pa) Mary Lee (ca) Maurice Lee (il, ok) Peter Lee (wi) Albert Logan (il, in, pa) Reino Maki (me, nh, nm, ok, vt)

Carol Wilson

FIELDWORKERS

John C. McGalliard

Anderson (ca) Frank Anshen (nj) Donald Boyd (tx) James Breuer (pa)

Margaret Waterman

Charlotte

Leslie

SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS

ASSISTANT EDITORS Martha Bateson Craig M. Carver, Managing Editor John

F.

Clark

Brown

Charles

(al, ga, il, oh,

Matt Hogan, Science Editor Sheila Y. Kolstad, Senior Science

Editor

David Vander Meulen Luanne von Schneidemesser, Production Editor Lois

Wood

BIBLIOGRAPHER Goldye Mohr

COMPUTING STAFF Jean Anderson

Thomas Johnson William Katke Richard Venezky William Woodson

WORD PROCESSORS, PROOFREADERS Diane Balmer

G. Cassidy (ak, dc, Tom Clark (oh) F.

hi, wi)

Lurline Coltharp (tx) J.

Cook

(ks,

ne)

C. Middleton (il)

J. Miller (ny, va) Cynthia Milne (tx) Laura Murray (fl, nc, sc, va) Barbara Myhre (ca, il) Geoffrey Needier (ny) Evelyn Nimz (il, ia, ks, wi)

Charlotte

Raymond O'Cain

(in, sc)

Ruth Porter (fl, nc) John Reddington (mi)

Lawrence Foley (al)

Sally Rentschler (ga, mi, tn) August Rubrecht (ar, de, la, ny, tn) Dale Ruff (ca, il, mi, nh, ny, nc, oh, tx)

Virginia Foscue (al)

Geoffrey

Charles

W.

Foster (al, tn)

Timothy Frazer (il) David Goldberg (ct, tx, vt, wa)

nj, ny, or, pa,

Leonard Goldberg (ma) Susan Goldberg (ny) Bonnie Greatman (md) Iris Greenberg (ny) Michael Grossinger (az) Steve Halpern (nj) Robert Hausmann (al, pa, wi) Kirk Hegbloom (id, mt, nd, sd, tx,

wy) Lois

Hood

Russom (ny) Gladys Saunders (dc, pa, ma, ny) Barbara Scott (tn) Charles Seastone

(in,

Sharon Huizenga (ky, va) Michele McKeegan Jacobs (ca) Robert Jacobs (ny)

Mary Jay Jones

Mary Ann

Jay H. Kendall (vt)

(ca)

ny)

Toby Sindt (nj) Timothy Sloan (ny, pa)

Thomas Smith

(nc)

Detlef Stark (ga)

Suddarth (in) Martin Todaro (tx) Gerald Udell (mo) L. C.

Van Dyke (ca, co, ia, mn, nv) Elizabeth Van Guilder (ma) Patt

Nancy Williamson (ri)

Dolores Fries Pels

mn)

David Carlson (ma)

Robert L. Cowser (ny) L. Benjamin Crane (ar, ms) Lawrence M. Davis (il) Audrey R. Duckert (ma) Warren L. P. Dwyer (il, tx) Jon Erickson (ut) Jean Ehrenkranz (nj, ri) George Ferger (wi)

Jeffrey A. Hirshberg

(ia,

Marsha McKeldin (ky, ms, mo, tn)

Carrie A. Estill

Hill

McCabe

Robert McCracken (mi)

W.

Stanley

Edward C.

wv)

Peter Brunette (pa)

Jennifer K. Ellsworth

George H. Goebel James W. Hartman Michael M. T. Henderson

Krichels (ct)

(ca, nc)

James Wood (nj) Joan Zink (ma) Terry Zwigoff (il, tn)

A complete list of DARE staff will appear in the final volume.

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2012

http://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer01arie

Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction

The

ix

xi

DARE Map and Regional

Language Changes Especially

Guide to Pronunciation Text of Questionnaire List of

Informants

Labels

Common

xxm in

American Folk Speech

xli lxii

lxxxvi

List of Abbreviations

clii

Dictionary ofAmerican Regional English,

A-C

1

xxxvi

Acknowledgments

would be quite impossible to thank by name the hundreds who have contributed in one or another, to this first volume one degree another, to way or of DARE. We have shared an interest in the English language

and later, John Algeo, Richard John H. Fisher, Eric Hamp, Winfred P. Lehmann, Robert Lumiansky, Fred C. Robinson, and Robert D. Stevick.

It

Walker Read,

of people from every walk of life

W.

in

America, especially in its regional varieties, which, in the of our national motto, make unity out of diversity. The

spirit

project has

been helped in countless ways, including financial

support, contributions of collections of data, volunteered reading, access granted to

and

single items

DARE

many

kinds of source materials,

sources.

The

first

grant,

some comprising decades of data have been contributed to DARE (see Introduction). Chief among these are the Gordon Wilson and Joseph Hall collections; the Carleton, Hand, Hench, McDavid, TabSpecial compilations,

bert,

Endowment

from the

for the

and Tamony

collections are also of special value.

In the early years a reading program was launched in which

U.S. Office of Education (1965-1970), paid for the basic fieldwork. Thereafter, the National

Willis Russell;

collecting,

of data from every part of the country.

has received financial support from both govern-

ment and nongovernment

I.

Bailey, Larry D. Benson, Charles A. Ferguson,

Hu-

manities has supported the processing of data and the editing (1971 - 1984), and the National Science Foundation has also

marked possible examples of regionalisms in more stories, plays, and poems. Useful information also came from correspondents volunteers

than two hundred American novels, short all

over the United States

about

who wrote

in response to articles

DARE and television appearances by the Chief Editor.

Thanks go

also to the

2777 informants interviewed by

helped materially (1980-1984). Other assistance has

DARE fieldworkers, who

generously contributed their time

from the Rockefeller Foundation (1976), the Mellon Foundation (1978-1984), the Brittingham Foundation ( 980- 984), the Evjue Foundation ( 980), the Johnson Foundation of Racine (1972), the Gramercy Foundation (1980-1981), and the Marathon Oil Company. Private donors have also provided substantial support: Margaret Bryant, William Card, Audrey R. Duckert, Philip H. Gray, A. Murray Kinloch, John B. McFarland, James B. McMillan, Barbara Richmond, I. Willis Russell, Mr. and Mrs. Merton M. Sealts, Peter Tamony, Francis Lee Utley, and Eugene B.

and knowledge. They were promised

come Andrew W.

1

1

1

Vest.

The University of Wisconsin -Madison, Institution,

as Cooperating

has supported the project steadily from the begin-

who deserve special mention are Presidents Fred Harvey Harrington and Robert O'Neil; Chancellor Irvning. Officers

and Deans Eric Rude, Robert M. Bock, Mark H. Ingraham, Robert B. Doremus, and E. David Cronon. The Wisconsin Foundation has handled funds and given ing Shain;

The Department of English has been and personal interest taken in the by Chairmen Helen C. White, Walter B.

advice as to funding.

generous with

its facilities

work, especially

Simon Heninger, Charles T. Scott, Phillip Harth, William T. Lenehan, Sargent Bush, Jr., and Joseph J. WiesenRideout,

and Mrs. Merton M.

Sealts have given generous help and useful criticism. Foreign scholars who wrote at a critical time, urging the National Endowment to give DARE farth. Professor

were A. J. Aitken, R. W. Burchfield, Robert D. Eagleson, Guy Jean Forgue, and Pierre Michel. Thanks are also due the scholars who acted as members of DARE's

essential support,

advisory boards: Harold B. Allen,

Audrey R. Duckert, Einar

Haugen, Hans Kurath, Raven I. McDavid, Jr., James B. McMillan, Albert H. Marckwardt, Thomas Pyles, Allen

that their

names would

be kept confidential.

DARE

has also benefited greatly from contributions of

other individuals. In the lexicographic community, special

thanks must go to Frederick Mish (Merriam- Webster) and Robert Burchfield (Oxford English Dictionaries). Clarence L. Barnhart has furnished wise inspiration. J. Edward Gates has given aid through the Dictionary Society of North America;

Laurence Urdang through Verbatim and in other ways. The staffs of the University of Wisconsin -Madison libraries and the Wisconsin Historical Society library have been consistently helpful. John Nitti, director of the Dictionary of the Old Spanish Language, has given unstinting aid of many kinds, especially with our computer problems. Generous computing assistance has also come from James E. Hallen, William H. Kelly, and Paul R. Stevens, and Michael von Schneidemesser has contributed more time and computer expertise than anyone can reckon. It was through the good offices of Howard Mumford Jones initially, and of W. V. Quine, Einar Haugen, and Morton M. Bloomfield, that Harvard University Press became acquainted with DARE and in 974 accepted it for publication. Their help is acknowledged with warm thanks, as is also the contribution of the Press staff, especially Maud Wilcox and Camille Smith, and Darby Jo Campbell of Progressive Typog1

raphers.

Lexicography, which by

accuracy in

detail, is

its

nature demands a high degree of

not a rapid science.

The

DARE project,

begun in 1965, has advanced steadily in these twenty years. Data have been collected and prepared. Problems of limitation and presentation have been worked out. Volume I is now complete, and considerable work has been done toward the

Acknowledgments remaining volumes. With continued support, possible to complete these within a few years.

it

should be

DARE has had

along

— the warm

collaboration without which such a piece of

work could

the great benefit of popular interest

hardly be accomplished.

To

all

all

who have

helped in any way,

our grateful thanks.

As a personal note, the Chief Editor adds the following lines of dedication to his wife, Professor Helene

Monod

(1909-1980): Lif waes pe llhtre

Fronclonde from, wis ond wittig,

gleaw in gllwstolas.

ponne Leoht eastan cwom faemne weleadig, wlfmonna swetost, -Baet waes

gode

ides.

'EAev^/ came from the east, was brighter when a bride well-blest, from the land of France, of women most dear, wise and learned, That was a good spouse. keen in joyous places.

Life

Cassidy

Introduction

material for an American Dialect Dictionary worthy to

History

A

stand beside the English Dialect Dictionary,

scholarly project that has required

involving hundreds of people

many

years of work,

and considerable expense, can-

not be fully understood without taking account of its inception, its aims, its progress. The history of the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) goes back almost a hundred years, to the founding in 1 889 of its sponsoring body, the American Dialect Society (ADS). It is no coincidence that in the same year Joseph Wright took the first step toward editing his English Dialect Dictionary (EDD); that fact was well known to the eminent American philologists who founded ADS, whose purpose evidently was to do, for the English language in America, what the English Dialect Society had done in gathering materials for Wright and sponsoring

his

work.

The

list

of names, though a century old,

honor, deserving remembrance.

Among

is still

a

roll

of

the most eminent

members were Edward S. Sheldon, Charles H. Grandgent, George L. Kittredge, Francis J. Child, James B. Greenough, John M. Manly, Benjamin I. Wheeler, and William D. Whitney. They stated, as the purpose of the Society, "the investigation of the English Dialects of America with regard to pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, phraseology, and geographical distribution." The first issue of the Society's publication, Dialect Notes (DN), appeared in 1 890. It continued publication for forty-nine years and produced six volumes, chiefly of word lists but also including other apposite studies. Though production of a dictionary was evidently foreseen from the first, collecting was left to individual initiative; there was never a real campaign or an adequately planned effort to cover the country.

Word lists, besides, often lacked the kind of

precise information necessary for compiling a dictionary.

When the made

Society was seventeen years old, William E.

this point in

Mead

no uncertain terms:

The most ardent admirer of the achievements of the Society must admit that all the investigation that has been done, however thorough for certain districts, is fragmentary in the extreme ... To one who has reviewed the whole situation it seems clear that the time has come when we should definitely abandon the drifting policy which we have followed and set out on a systematic investigation. If our chief aim is to publish detached studies of a district here and there as chance may offer them, we shall doubtless accomplish something of value but if we cherish the hope that by .

.

.

such means we shall, within a reasonable time, succeed in preparing an adequate dialect map of our vast country and in bringing together a sufficient

amount of trustworthy

mistic indeed.

we

are opti-

(DN 3, 168- 169.)

Mead estimated that "the work of the Dialect Society must be multiplied twenty-fold before a dialect dictionary can be safely undertaken." Pointing to the rich fields, especially the South, at that time but scantily studied, he outlined a plan of organized collecting, state by state. He deplored the daily disappearance of material as speakers of dialect died. And he insisted that this kind of investigation could not

without

money

be made

— more money than the Society was taking in

from its membership. Hoping for the support of some wealthy individual, he concluded: "If such assistance can be obtained,

we may hope

to accomplish a work of lasting importance." That was in 1906. The chief moving force in the following years was Percy W. Long, who in 1917 began the formation of a master file. Yet only two years later he warned that, despite some progress made, "the Society's chief enterprise may be said to be in a critical position" (DN5, 74-75). It was the period of the First World War; the making of the file had been delayed; Mead's hoped-for Maecenas had not been found. A new step was taken in 1 929 when the office of Editor of the Dictionary was created and Long was elected to fill it. In his report, however, the new Editor remarked, "there is no immediate prospect of beginning work on the Dictionary itself." The lists of words and expressions already printed in Dialect Notes, he said,

now total over 30,000 entries ... No doubt it seems to many that the Society's dictionary should without much further delay begin to

assume some form practicable of

An

examination of the data now available shows that a dictionary of a kind could be prepared from them. It would probably include the greater number of existent dialect words and locutions. It would probably indicate with some approach to accuracy the sections in which they primarily appear. On the other hand, it could not compare at all favorably with the English Dialect publication.

Dictionary.

EDD it would still be necessary to gather from literature, to have many county glossaries, and to have local correspondents to whom questions could be submitted during the process of editing. That was in 1 930. The time was not yet ripe for the kind of effort necessary to produce the kind of dictionary that had been envisioned. Meanwhile, the Society took part in two other projects of a related sort: the Linguistic Atlas of the United States and Even

to equal the

dialect materials

Introduction

XII

Canada, whose first publication was the Linguistic Atlas of England; and the Dictionary of American English. 2 Dialect Notes ceased publication in 1939 but was succeeded in 1944 by the Publication of the American Dialect Society (PADS), which has continued to print word lists and special studies. For a time, the hope of producing the dictionary was greatly weakened. During her presidency, Louise Pound revived it to the extent of personally encouraging Harold Wentworth to produce his American Dialect Dictionary, a small compilation based chiefly on Dialect Notes and his own 3 extensive reading. But no field collecting was undertaken, large parts of the subject area remained unexamined, and the resulting volume was never accepted as the Society's intended dictionary. The dictionary was not forgotten, however: in the late 1 940s two meetings were held especially to plan it. At last, the present writer, asked to say how he would go about it, replied in "The ADS Dictionary— How Soon?" (PADS 39) and in 1962 found himself appointed Editor and encouraged to get on with the work.

New

1

the essential nationwide campaign of data collecting, the

primary tool required was a series of questions to be asked uniformly in all areas so that results would be comparable. The WELS questions were therefore completely revised, made over from their postal form for use in direct oral interviews, and put into a fixed phrasing which the fieldworkers were instructed not to alter. Intended for use in personal interviews, the DARE Questionnaire (QR) begins with the neutral subject of time in order to allay possible suspicions of some hidden purpose on the part of the investigator. Next come weather and topography, equally neutral and safely concrete. Houses, furniture, and household utensils follow, with dishes, foods, vegetables, and fruits. And so the questions continue to more abstract topics: honesty and dishonesty, beliefs, emotions, relationships among people, manner of action or being, and so on 41 categories in all with a total of 1 847 questions. (The entire set of questions, with all the different responses made to them, will be presented as the Data Summary in the final volume of DARE.) In all, 1 002 QRs were completed in as many commu-

—

nities.

Preparatory Steps Studies already

made were ready

to be used. First, the

new

Editor had done fieldwork for the Linguistic Atlas, complet-

workbooks in Wisconsin. This work had proved numerous local differences in Wisconsin speech could be correlated with settlement history and other social factors. Second was a statewide study, the Wisconsin English Language Survey (WELS), in which, by means of a mailed ing

fifty

clearly that

fifty Wisconsin natives in twenty-five chosen communities had returned a large number of variant re-

questionnaire,

sponses. This questionnaire ultimately that used

became

the basis of

by DARE. The purpose of WELS was, within the

limits of practicability, to gather as

as possible, in

all

its

much

of the local lexicon

variations. This could not be

done

by random questioning. For WELS, therefore, the items printed up to that time in the DN and PADS word approximately forty thousand of them were analists lyzed and sorted by semantic categories. The questionnaire efficiently

—

—

was then constructed of questions covering those categories which had proved to be the most fruitful in regional varia4

Collecting could thus be undertaken with some assurance of maximal results. As noted, WELS became the pilot study on which the DARE Questionnaire was based. tion.

The Editor had

laid

down two

essential conditions for

production of the Dictionary: full-time direction and

full-

scale financing. Fortunately for the latter, the U.S. Office of

Education, just at this time, was supporting a few projects of research in the humanities. for five years, during

The Dictionary

which

received support

over the entire could be accomplished. The hope was that in United States

In an attempt to avoid prompting specific replies, questions were phrased without using words that might possibly be given as answers. For example, the word rise is not used in asking about the sun, though sun itself is unavoidable: "What do you call the time early in the day before the sun comes into sight?" would not prompt sunrise rather than sunup, dawn, or some other word. (By far the most frequent response was dawn.) The language of the questions was kept as simple and common as possible, in order to elicit an immediate, spontaneous response. Secondary and other responses, though not sought, were carefully recorded when given. The immediate, spontaneous response, however, is as close to normal local usage as an investigator can hope to come. It avoids inhibitions and second thoughts on the part of the informant; he or she does not have time to change the answer under the influence of educational or other social pressures. That the informants are aware of such pressures is revealed by such secondary responses as "I don't know if that's correct, but it's what we say here" or "I shouldn't have said snuck; sneaked is the right word." Fieldworkers were instructed to record all

such

remarks; they are of great sociolinguistic

self-critical

value, especially

when used alongside the informants' biogra-

phies.

Most of the questions seek to

For example, qu. R2 briefly describes a dragonfly and asks for its name. To this question 79 different replies were given, among them snake feeder (chiefly N Midi, also S Midi), snake doctor (chiefly Midi, Sth),

name

field collecting

five years the collections could be edited and the Dictionary produced. But the success of the first step was so

another

1.

Linguistic Atlas of New

(Providence:

Brown

A

beyond.

York: Crowell, 1944).

five

4.

The

WELS questionnaire, revised, was published in

G. Cassidy and Audrey R. Duckert,

DARE Questionnaire summer

of 1964 the Chief Editor and Audrey R. Duckert worked out the essentials of the project and gave it its name. 5 The acronym was taken to be a hopeful augury. For In the

et al.

Dictionary ofAmerican English on Historical Principles (DAE), William A. Craigie and James R. Hulbert (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938-1944). 3. American Dialect Dictionary (ADD), by Harold Wentworth (New 2.

— such a huge and valuable corpus was collected — that the years of editing stretched from to ten and resounding

England (LANE), by Hans Kurath

University, 1939-1943).

ed. Sir

The

establish the regional or local

for a single object or idea.

A Method for

1953: Frederic

Collecting Dialect,

PADS 20. 5. The ADS had referred to the projected dictionary, over the years, as "American Dialect Dictionary," but in 1944 Harold Wentworth had preempted this title. Actually, the state of dialect in the United States makes the present title more appropriate.

Introduction

XIII

mosquito hawk (chiefly Sth), spindle (coastal NJ), ear-cutter

(NH, WI). Open questions were necessary when a whole class of objects had to be referred to: "What different kinds of oak trees grow around here?" (qu. T10). Informants might name as many as 20, or none at all, but at least the best-known kinds of oak in each region would usually be mentioned, including a number of local folk names, such as pin, post, Spanish, chinquapin, overcup, shim, chair bark oak. More than 1 30 names for oaks were proffered. 6 Because the phrasing was so important, the questions were printed in a preliminary form and tried out in the first 75 QRs. In the final revision, some low-yield questions were dropped, a small number of new ones added, some troublesome ones rephrased. The QR was then printed and used without further change in the remaining 927 communities. As noted, the yield was enormous; the data gathered on living American speech are unequaled elsewhere. Nor does DARE exhaust them as a linguistic resource: they contain a great deal of

settlement history into account. (The planners of

Population

answer,

given, should ideally produce a reversed For example: "What do you call a container for

if responsibly

coal to use in a stove?" Responses: coal bucket, hod, pail, scuttle,

and so on. Reversed,

this

a container for coal to use in relatively well for

simple material objects like coal

less well for abstract

feel

scuttles,

by state, communities, distributed according to the states' composition, and communities of various types, so that the aggregate would reflect the makeup of each state's population. Five community types were established: 1. Urban: a specific section within a metropolitan area, with a population usually in the thousands within a total of a million or more. 2. Large city: a. section within a large nonmetropolitan city with a total population in the hundreds of thousands. 3. Small city: a city independent of any metropolitan attachment, with a population in the tens of thousands. 4. Village: an independent town closely attached to its surrounding rural area, with a population in the thousands.

one part of speech, or one form were often answered in another: qu. GG34a, "To

depressed or in a gloomy mood:

To

He

one informant replied "box chin"; the question, intended to elicit an adjective, produced a noun. This kind of switched response served as a check in making the questions: they had to be simple and idiomatic to keep from misleading the respondent, whose reply, unless hesitant or obviously uncertain, was a sound guide to his or her normal syntax or idiom. ,"

The section of the questionnaire covering wildflowers proved unsatisfactory: it is difficult to describe a wildflower briefly in nontechnical terms with assurance that the informant will visualize the intended one. To compensate, a spequestionnaire was devised, keyed to color photographs. 8

Each picture was shown to the informant and the response recorded in a special fieldworker's burden,

list.

it

a few communities, but

accurate

dwellings, small crossroads settlements

tion in the hundreds.

DARE

recognized as a "community" any group of people

living fairly close to each other

and sharing the same commerand the like. Even within

cial facilities, social organizations,

metropolitan areas such communities, or subcommunities, exist

with a sense of focus based on ethnic, religious, and other

characteristics. Contrariwise, quite small

communities, though close together, apart

on

independent rural themselves

may keep

similar grounds. (For details about the

DARE com-

munities see the List of Informants.)

Fieldworkers After a short period of preparation, data gatherers were sent to

has the

qu. X6, "If a person's lower jaw sticks out

prominently, you say he's

cial

— farm — and a popula-

Rural: an area with unconcentrated population

elicit

today," aiming at a noun, got the reply "feels blue" or "in low cotton."

states.

and settlement history are usually pubhowever.) The aim was to choose relatively

things or emotional matters.

Questions intended to of a verb,

becomes a definition: scuttle, a stove. The method works

DARE were

does not go by

stable

5.

The QR is not perfect, however. As Jules Gillieron noted after making the Atlas Linguistique de la France, a questionnaire, to be appreciably better, would have to be made after 7 the fieldwork had been done. In the nature of questionnaires, the question, if properly phrased and understood, and the

linguistic variation

statistics

lished

unexploited data on syntax, for example.

definition.

aware that

fully

the chosen communities to find informants

get

them

to

students trained in English language and linguistics and able to handle phonetic transcription; a few undergraduates

faculty

members were

used the

also

among them. The Chief

and

Editor

QR and interview method himself, comparing them

with Atlas practices and seeing what details needed revision.

was the task of the fieldworker, sent to the designated community, to find an informant who would answer the questions in the QR. It usually required more than one informant to complete the QR. but since each was given a personal identifying number and every response is coded, responses cannot be misattributed. For each informant a page of biographical information was made, including name, adIt

dress, social factors (sex, race, age, education),

amount of

Since this greatly increased the 6.

could not be carried out in more than it

and

answer the QRs. These fieldworkers were chiefly graduate

did furnish a substantial and

more

body of regional wildflower names.

In such

lists

there

much duplication of widespread names such as named only once.

is

white oak, black oak, red oak, live oak; many others are

The coverage

is

therefore not as

covered 7.

Communities

was decided that one thousand communities could be which support was assured. (This is a somewhat looser mesh than that of the Linguistic Atlases, but in areas where they can be compared, findings have corresponded well.) 9 Communities were chosen in each state, the number proportional to the population and taking investigated in the five years for

as for questions about a single object.

singly.

"Le questionnaire

.

etre fait apres l'enquete." It

full

Nevertheless, open questions collect classes of words that could not be

et

pour etre sensiblement meilleur, aurait du Etude de Geographie Linguistique, Pathologie .

Therapeutique Verbales.

.

1.

(Bern: Librairie Beerstecher, 1915). 45.

The photographs were taken from the best book available at the time: Homer House, Wild Flowers (New York: Macmillan, 1961). 9. DARE averages 20 communities per state, ranging from 86 (NY) to 2 (NV); 20 states have more than the average, and ? have fewer than the average. The Linguistic Atlas coverage is more intensive and affords the less populous states more than their proportional share. 8.

1

1

Introduction

XIV

travel, chief occupations, associations,

both

sides,

family background on

a brief description of the community, and a

description of the informant's speech

and

attitudes

toward

language. These facts have greatly helped the editors to evaluate the data.

was also the responsibility of the fieldworker,

It

in

choosing informants, to attempt to balance social factors overall for his or her geographic area. Fieldworkers were closely monitored so that such matters could be controlled,

and each fieldworker's first QR was checked critically before the worker was permitted to continue. The total number of fieldworkers was 80: 5 1 men and 29 women. One question a minor one as it proved had to do with Black informants and fieldworkers. Would a Black fieldworker establish a closer relationship with a Black informant than a White fieldworker could? To test the possibility, Black informants were interviewed by both White and Black fieldworkers, but no significant difference in the results was de-

—

—

tected.

The

DARE

interview

Linguistic Atlas but with

method was based on that of the some innovations. It served remark-

ably well. Fieldworkers were instructed to avoid suggesting responses.

When,

were to mark

rarely,

they had

to

prompt an answer, they

sugg for suggested. If they heard something of linguistic interest in an informant's free speech, they were to mark it con for conversational. If the informant said "We for not here; don't have that here," the fieldworker wrote If the fieldworker had he wrote NR. was no response, if there doubts about the response, he marked it with a question mark. If he was quite certain of something that others might doubt, he double-underlined it or wrote [sic]. Informants almost always took the procedure seriously, but a few were it

NH

humorous replies. Sometimes an informant misunderstood and answered at

occasionally tempted to invent or to give

cross purposes. Fieldworkers were encouraged to

make

notes

of any kind beyond the limits of the questions; their marginaAddit (fieldworker's additional informalia, quoted as

traveled or stayed

away long enough

affected. If the family tions, so

much

had been

for his or her speech to be

in the

community

for genera-

the better. Informants with foreign-language

backgrounds had to use English as their home language, whatever else they might be able to speak in the community. Biographical information was compiled for every informant who completed at least one section of a QR, but not always for auxiliary informants who happened to be present during an interview and furnished an occasional word. The choice of informants was generally balanced with an eye to the five social factors already mentioned community type, sex,

—

and education

race, age,

— but with a deliberate weighting

toward older people. Folk language

traditional, and older young ones have never heard of. DARE's 2777 informants included 1368 men and 1 409 women, ranging in age from about 1 8 to over 90. Old informants (60 years and over) made up 66 percent of the total, middle-aged (40-59 years) 24 percent, young informants percent. The levels of education were as follows: less

people remember

many

is

things that

1

than

grade, 3 percent; at least fifth grade, 24 percent; at two years of high school, 4 percent; at least two years of college, 3 percent; unknown, 1 percent. The racial distribution was Whites 92.7 percent, Blacks 6.7 percent, American Indians .3 percent, Orientals .3 percent. In addition, 244 informants made tapes but did not answer the QR, and 2 answered the wildflower QR only. These people are listed separately at the end of the List of Informants. It must be understood that no attempt was made to prorate every one of these factors state by state; to have attempted to use such precise criteria would have made the task virtually impossible. Further, neither the choice of communities nor that of informants was randomized; on the contrary, the intention was to maximize the collection of materials by going to the places and people most likely to furnish the fifth

least

1

1

largest

amount of appropriate

data.

FW

have often proved quite valuable. The fieldworker was also required to make a tape recording of each of his or her chief informants from each community preferably on a speaking freely for twenty minutes or more familiar topic so that the speech would be relaxed and normal. To check on more formal pronunciation, the informant was also asked to read the children's tale "Arthur the Rat"

tion)

—

10

(famous among phoneticians), in DARE's revised version. These two types of recordings permitted comparisons, often highly instructive, between an informant's speaking and reading styles. Tapes were made not only of the regular informants who answered the QR but also, as opportunity offered, by a number of auxiliary informants. In all, 1 843 audiotapes were

made; they constitute a unique record of American pronunciation, drawn from many levels of life and all fifty states. The tapes were studied over a two-year period not only for regional pronunciation but for other features, especially lexical

ones that might go into the

As with communities, the attempt was made to choose informants so that the aggregate would reflect the native popula-

man

its

diversity.

woman had

To qualify as a DARE

informant, a to have been born in the community represented or very close by, and could not have or

By 1970

QRs had

been completed, but the sheer become a problem. If every question had elicited one response each time it was asked, there would have been 1,850,694 responses but multiple answers brought the total closer to 2,500,000. The planners of DARE had realized from the first that the mass of data would be large and that computer processing must be considered. In 1965, however, though numerical computing was well advanced, the handling of alphabetic material was only beginning. Nevertheless, the collections were coded for sorting, filing, and other forms of processing, and fortunately, as the collection grew, computing methods also advanced. DARE was ultimately able to save much time because of this, and to develop its unique map-making capacity. As the completed QRs began to come back from fieldthe 1002

quantity of material gathered had

—

DARE files.

Informants

tion of the United States in

Processing the Data

10. The story was first used for phonetic study over a century ago in England by Henry Sweet. In this century it was adopted by W. C. Greet at Columbia University, who made phonograph recordings of it with his students from many parts of the United States (Victor and Victrola, "American Speech," Under the Direction of H. M. Ayres and Cabell Greet, Columbia University, nos. 65-76). At some point, the young rat, ne Grip, was renamed Arthur, because phonetic variation would be greater in the latter name. For the DARE version of the text, see the Guide

to Pronunciation, p.

xliii.

—

.

XV

Introduction

— the modern counter— were employed to pre-

them for computer input. Every page of every QR had to be numbered and stamped with the informant's code, which

compilation and computer indexing of the Main File. This began in a very small way but over the years grew to more than 70,000 items. 4. Letters from the public, often in response to news articles

consists of the two-letter state abbreviation plus the individ-

or radio or television appearances. Replies of this kind,

workers, a group of graduate students parts of Dr. Johnson's amanuenses

pare

ual's

designated number. Thus, for example,

OH47

is

infor-

mant 47 from Ohio; VA3 is informant 3 from Virginia. Also marked were the sections of the QR that each informant had answered. Assuming no undiscovered typographical errors, every response can thus be traced back to the QR in which the fieldworker first recorded it. Data from the QRs were then fed into the computer, and ultimately the entire collection was printed out, question by question, with the responses listed alphabetically and the codes given by state and numerical sequence. The editors then condensed this mass of printout, removing anomalies," and it became the Data Summary, which

will

appear in the

final

volume.

questions in code sequence but

now

It still lists

the

QR

gives the responses in

12

descending order of frequency. While the QRs were being processed, the other part of the

though of varying quality, are often useful sources of information.

DARE fostered two studies of special vocabularies in the hope of gaining understanding of certain questions concerning regionally.

The

lexicon unquestionably varies regionally

in widespread activities such as farming, housekeeping, fish-

was decided to study two extensively on possible connections with geography. The activities chosen were coal mining and tobacco growing and marketing. Mary Ritchie Key collected for DARE the vocabulary of tobacco growing in eight states, and Dennis R. Preston carried out the study of coal mining in nine 15 states. Both studies give evidence that certain features of occupational vocabulary are affected by general regional ing,

and lumbering.

It

practiced activities to check

usage.

DARE corpus was being gathered and put in order to form the Main File. This contains both oral and written, published and unpublished materials. Chief among published sources were

DN; PADS; American Speech; the Journal ofAmerican Folkand other folklore journals; the Federal Writers' Project state guides series; more than five hundred books of regional literature; and selected newspapers from every state, especially county and small-town newspapers. Under a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies, a special program was carried out in which 1 14 diaries were excerpted. These sources are generally accessible in good libraries. In addition, DARE has used a large body of materials that are not generally accessible. Notable are the personal collections of Gordon Wilson and Joseph Hall, made over periods of about 35 years each and generously given outright to the lore

They contain records of local speech respectively from the areas of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina, gathered directly from lifelong residents before the communities were dispersed and the areas made into national parks project.

communities therefore now forever gone. Other personal collections given to DARE include those of Atcheson L. Hench, Kelsie B. Harder, and Russell Tabbert. 13 Special mention should be made of materials gathered for but not used in the Linguistic Atlas ofNew England (LANE). Thanks to Raven I. McDavid, Jr., the original LANE workbooks were furnished to DARE. Similarly, the aluminum disks of New England (and other) speech recorded by Miles L. Hanley and Guy S. Lowman, Jr., in 1932- 1934, among the earliest of such recordings, were transferred to audiotapes and the lexical items added to the DARE Main File. 14 (In 1984 these disks were archived in the Library of Congress.)

DARE also

has several special

files

that are not otherwise

accessible: 1.

The

WELS

The

DARE Maps

The method of coding every question in the QR, every response, every community investigated, every informant, and the most relevant social facts about each

1

1

made

This was done always on the basis of the QRs.

rejected. Editors

made

spellings consistent,

removed

it

No

possible to

evidence was

differences in field-

workers' practices, and unified matters of form, such as the proper form for

multiword phrases. The condensation was achieved by grouping all responses with nine or more informants and itemizing only

together

those with eight or fewer. 12.

In general, the

When two

most frequent response

is

considered standard.

alternate terms are used with nearly equal frequency, neither

can be considered the exclusive standard. Examples are twilight and dusk (370 vs. 365 responses), and neigh and whinny (387 are used in every state;

standard.

no one

vs.

clearly dominates. All

With such synonymous

pairs,

383 responses). All

must be considered

however, there

is

usually a

difference of geographical concentration: the areas of use overlap but are

not congruent. Thus whinny is strong in the North, weak in the Southeastern and Southern states; neigh

is

much weaker in the North, more evenly What we have here are

distributed through the country as a whole. regionally standard words.

Gordon Wilson,

Sr., had made a card file of about 9000 lexical from more than 225 local people, with exact biographical information, and with phonetic transcriptions, definitions and usage notes, and annotations showing in what dictionaries they were treated. In the 940s he made many recordings of the regional speech. All his materials were put into the DARE Main File; the original cards and audiotapes are in Bowling Green at the Kentucky Folklore Society.

13.

items, gathered orally

1

Joseph Sargent Hall's card

file,

also put into the

Main

File, consists

phies and transcripts of audiotapes. Also very useful was his monograph,

"The Phonetics of Great Smoky Mountain Speech," American Speech 1942, no.

2. pt. 2.

The Hench

Collection

may

be consulted in the University of Virginia

Library, Charlottesville. Kelsie Harder not only answered the file,

covering 50 Wisconsin speakers, with

of

material from interviews with about 230 informants, with brief biogra-

questions but also excerpted letters his mother had written to

army

— a valuable source for

WELS

him during

evidence from central-

audiotape recordings of their speech.

his

The "Northup File" of natural history, with the folk names of plants and animals cross-referenced to their scien-

western Tennessee. Russell Tabbert, collecting data for a Dictionary of

2.

tific

names, and with bibliographical references to a large

number of published sources. 3. The "Latest File" an ongoing file of everything that continued to come in from a variety of sources after the

—

service

Alaskan English, put 14.

The

his collection at

linguistic

DARE's

disposal in 1980.

tapes are in A. L. Davis's collection, with a copy in the

Archive. University of Massachusetts. Amherst.

DARE archive: 15.

A

full

account

is

ADS

in the

Margaret Waterman. "The Hanley Tapes," 1974. The study of coal mining has been published, with an annotated

glossary, in

PADS 59.

Introduction

XVI

display the data in ways helpful to the editors

and

to the user

of the Dictionary. The most innovative of these computeraided features are the maps that appear in the Dictionary as

words or phrases. was not found, can

maps

nationally (compare the

buggy), (for

11

while others

example, arab,

for

baby carriage and baby

may

be current in a single community vendor, is used only in and around

street

DARE,

part of the treatment of strikingly regional

Baltimore). Regionality, then, as defined in

Where

relation to the size of the area of use, so long as

was found, and where it be very quickly understood from a map. Manual mapmaking is laborious; mapmaking by the DARE computer method is so rapid and easy that it became an investigative tool of great a feature

value in the editing process.

The DARE maps are populational, not areal

— that

is,

they

show the informants' (speakers') com-

say nothing about square miles of territory but

number and

distribution of the

number having been prorated to density of state by state. The states appear on the DARE

munities, this

population,

map as nearly as possible in their proper spatial relation to one another, and in something like their proper shape, but each

enlarged or diminished according to the prorated

communities

in

it.

Within each

is

number of

state a rectangular space is

assigned to each community; these too are placed generally in their proper relative positions. cific

response

is

The symbol

indicating a spe-

then printed in the rectangle assigned to the

community where that response was given. This means that empty spaces are also significant: in those communities some other response was given (unless, as occasionally happened, the question was not answered). For further detail, see

The

DARE Map and

Regional Labels, pp. xxiii-xxxv. Maps are used only when the data warrant them; if responses are very few or very many, a map is not a useful means of dealing with them. Each map is placed as close as possible to the treatment of the trated.

The map

is

illus-

an aid to visualizing the region of use;

details of use are in the

Maps

word or phrase being

accompanying

on information derived from field collecting using the DARE questionnaire. They are always geographical, but some are also used to show social features. Some social maps, and some contrastive maps showing more than one word or phrase, appear in the Map Section of the final

are based

volume.

more "uniformity" than actually exists. In and countryside, distinctive regional and social differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax persist, it is

possible to see

both

city

DARE shows. DARE does not 18

forms of speech such as Boontling (the private language used by the inhabitants of Boonville, California, and its environs) or any whose purpose or effect is to exclude the general listener. Criminal argot is of this kind, an in-group code intentionally separated from the general idiom. DARE includes such terms only if they have cover

artificial

DARE, had

only

been made in the seventeenth century, might have been "A Dictionary of That Part of the English Language that is commonly spoken in the Colonies of North America in Sundry Regions, Provinces, Tracts, Districts, and smaller Settlements, but not in that People as a Whole, Detailing its Varieties as Projected by the Native of

it

its

users understand. For example, the

a chicken,

is

cool has long 16.

In a relatively small

entered (though not listed together 17.

Baby

number of

itself illustrated)

under

it.

words or phrases standard.

16

— or anything

Beyond

scientific,

else that

or other learned

could be considered two criteria have

that general exclusion,

guided the editors: (1) Any word or phrase whose form or meaning is not used generally throughout the United States but only in part (or parts) of it, or by a particular social group, is

to be included. (2)

Any word

or phrase whose form or

meaning is distinctively a folk usage (regardless of region) is to be included.

Some terms

are widespread without prevailing

word

is

may

be

Examples: anhinga, blue jay, fringed polygala. New England and is

carriage clearly prevails throughout

found, though

drawn?

instances a standard

so that nonstandard terms

widespread, though sparse in the Atlantic

DARE does not treat technical,

hobo word gump,

known otherwise, but the jazz musician's since come into wider use. DARE does not

digestion, it came out as Dictionary of American Regional English. This leaves the key word "regional" in need of sharper definition. What does DARE include, what exclude, lines

followed with

not

Folk." Condensed rather drastically for twentieth-century

and how are the

is

occupational language, sometimes called trade jargon, which

Inclusions and Exclusions title

than

For DARE, folk usage is that which is learned in the home and in the community, from relatives and friends, not from schooling, books, or other outside forms of communication. It is traditional and largely oral; it includes anything that can be called "dialect" in the United States. But here the definitions of traditional scholarship break down. For the English Dialect Dictionary, and for the European dialect atlases, especially in the nineteenth century when the folk speech was being collected, a large part of the population was still firmly localized away from cities, not greatly affected by schooling, living in traditional ways, and keeping traditional speech. Not so in the United States, and less and less so in the twentieth century, when easy communication, mechanized farming, public education, the growth of cities, widespread migration, and most recently the tremendous success of radio and television, have disrupted even the more traditional communities, blurring former lines of dialectal division and creating a relative uniformity in speech. Even if most people still stay in one place and keep up their former ways of life, change, or pressure for change, is everywhere. And change in ways of life brings with it accelerated change in language. In the old-world sense there is little "dialect" spoken in the United States. Yet

escaped into wider use. The same policy

The

bears no less

total.

as

text.

it is

less

commonly,

baby buggy, also becomes the prevalent

in the rest of the country; states,

form from the longitude of Ohio westward to the Pacific. In other words, who say baby buggy probably have heard and would understand baby carriage, and vice versa. One term is no more standard than the other. Yet there is a significant regional difference in their areas of concentration, and DARE must include them. Such borderline cases are relatively few, however: the great majority of the words and phrases treated in DARE are more narrowly local, and many are totally the areas of use overlap: people

unknown outside their own small areas. Not many people outside New York City know that a sliding-pond is a playground slide; not many readers of these lines

would be able

to gloss skillypot, grass onions,

jockey-box, work brickie, genavy. 18. Dialect differences are most distinctive as to pronunciation, secondarily as to vocabulary; syntactic differences are relatively few and less

conspicuous.

Introduction

XVII

—

espeattempt to cover restricted occupational vocabularies is highly specialized or esoteric, occupation the when cially

such as the sexing of chicks or the wrapping of cigars. On the other hand, the vocabularies of widespread occupations such as farming, housekeeping,

mining, lumbering, cattle-raising,

which involve entire communities and even entire regions, are necessarily included.

Regionally is affected also by the nature of some occupations. The language of sailors, for example, folk-created and traditional, is geographically limited to use on ships wherever they go.

Along seacoasts

it

is

brought ashore and enters all over the world it

landsmen's usage. But on ships sailing

becomes to some extent international. In reading sea literature for DARE the attempt was made to collect only such nautical usages as were distinctly American. Even so, regional labels that normally apply ashore do not apply to sea terms.

To

a lesser degree, perhaps, the language of other kinds of

— railmen's, even — not regionally limited and

transportation ployees' talk

truckers',

is

airline is

em-

likely to

be

much the same everywhere, a mixture influenced by the geographical sources of its practitioners. Again, treatment in

DARE

depends upon whether such occupational terms are known only within the groups or have escaped into more

general usage.

The language of children's games has been

treated fully in

DARE because it is almost entirely of folk origin and of oral and because it shows considerable regional varicombination of the traditional with many local differences. The same game, judging by the name, may be played by different rules, whereas the same game, judging by the manner of play, may have several different names. An example of the latter is the once familiar stick-and-peg game, variously called cricket, jippy-sticks, kitty-cat, knick-knock, peeny, peewee, tee-toe, whip-stick, and so on. There is no question that many variants are regional preservation,

ation. It represents a notable

—

see, for

example, the maps tor Andy-over, Annie-over,

anti-i-

and Antony-over. The language of children's games preserves, in disguise, many quite ancient words and ways of over,

speech.

The language to be collected was, then, any form of American English as spoken in the various regions of the United States. This necessarily included American "Black English," but

DARE went further and included Gullah, the only Creole

now surviving in the continental United States, and Hawaiian "pidgin," actually Creole. As English-based folk dialects spoken by native Americans, these deserve inclusion. A persistent problem was that natural regionality often comes into counterplay or conflict with linguistic regionality. A topographic feature, a kind of plant, a climatic condition, a bird or other animal form not found everywhere in the country, cannot have variant names where it does not exist. Folk names will be found for it only where it does exist. The most common folk name will usually become the standard one outside its natural area or for those who hear or read about it but do not know it directly. Within a natural area, English

however, there are often several local folk names (not always clearly distinguished), ple,

and

the pasqueflower

badger,

is

DARE includes these. also

called

and other names; the most

thartes aura

is

buzzard, but

it

is

For exam-

windflower, gosling,

common name

for

Ca-

also called carrion crow,

turkey vulture, red-neck buzzard, and so on.

The

scientific

identification of folk

names is not always possible, but DARE,

assigning special editors to this task, has corrected

vague or erroneous attributions of the past

(see, for

many

example,

the entries for apache plume, congo snake, fly poison plant,

and rosemary pine). The widespread confusion in the use of the term slang has led to its rejection by DARE. Popularly, slang is used to cover any kind of unconventional usage, especially if it has been

condemned in schoolrooms. Attempts to define it are as numerous as their attempters, and while there is some core of agreement, the word remains so imprecise that its use as a term has been challenged. Finding slang too indefiand too often used merely to condemn, DARE dispenses with it and uses more definitive and objective labels. scientific

nite

Some

other distinctions need to be noted. Speakers of

all

kinds have, in the well-known phrase, a vocabulary of use and

everyone has some than he or she habitually uses. DARE seeks, through the spontaneous immediate answer to a QR question, to find out what word the informant (and presumably others in his or her community) does habitually use. For the country as a whole these may be a vocabulary of recognition. That

acquaintance with a great

relics or

innovations,

is,

many more words

commonplaces or

rarities.

DARE

at-

tempts to label them appropriately. Obsoleteness is difficult to prove; many present folk terms were once standard or literary, but have gone out of general use. Yet some are revived, coelacanth, are thought to be extinct and then are suddenly discovered alive and well. Accordingly, DARE uses or, like the

the label obs sparingly, normally if the most recent example

found is a century or more old. With few exceptions, terms have not been entered unless they are in current or recent use. part of DARE's function as a historical dictionary, changes of status are also attended to: the decay of formerly widespread usages, the spread of formerly restricted usages,

As a

folk terms that

have made their way into written or

literary

use. It need hardly be said that borderline cases have been numerous. Most teasing have been questions arising from insufficient evidence. A single word or phrase given by an informant, not followed up at the time by the fieldworker, and nowhere found again, may nevertheless have the ring of genuineness. Here the decision to keep or to reject must rest on the editors' "feel" for the language, their experience and judgment. At the collecting stage it was appropriate to err on the side of inclusiveness; the collector could not know what other support for a strange form might be waiting in the files. At the editing stage, however, forms had to demonstrate their right to inclusion. Putative loanwords had to be found in actual use in English-language contexts. Apparent individualisms had to have analogs that made them seem likely to be more generally used. In the DARE entries, a double dagger (J) is prefixed to entries that may well be folk usages but for which conclusive evidence has not been found. Finally, because DARE's purpose is to describe regional and folk language as it is, there has been no bowdlerizing or expurgation. What has been found has been entered if it meets

the general criteria for inclusion. ladies

who commended

Dictionary

all

One

recalls the story

naughty words. "What,

my dears!" replied the

Doctor, "then you have been looking for them?" sets

of the

Dr. Johnson for omitting from his If the

out to look for them, he will certainly find in

reader

DARE the

Introduction

XVIII

and crudenesses of everyday American speech. To have rejected these would have been to distort the picture. Ethnic nicknames and epithets, often derogatory but also used humorously or, among friends, even affectionately, have been included or excluded according to the same criteria as any others. Usage notes often call attention to the social status and emotional effect of such expressions. The reader is enjoined to distinguish firmly between what DARE labels say and opinions that may be expressed in quoted sources. Quotations must be read historically, in light of their dates; many express attitudes that are now obsolete. In any case, DARE normal

vulgarities

quotations are chosen for their linguistic value, not for the

opinions their authors

may

and

—

ambiguous there is no would have written them,

angel; spoken forms are

the speaker

and the fieldworker's

spelling only reflects personal graphic

habits.

To

DARE

uses

present

all

these small variants economically,

swung dashes and parentheses

to indicate re-

peated and optional elements. Example: angel 's-trumpet

~

Also

.

.

.

trumpets, angel(s') trumpet (s).

Phrases are entered under the word or words that form the stable core, though other parts of the phrase may vary. For example, he wouldn't know beans from barley may also have

other

initial

pronouns

doesn't), other verbs

(she,

(tell),

they),

and

other auxiliaries

(can't,

especially other contrasters

B from a bull's foot, and several more). The phrases are entered with the core words first, as beans, not to know and Bfrom (a) bull's foot, not to know, with appropriate references to other phrases of the same meaning entered elsewhere in the alphabet, such as A from B, not to know. {beans from butter,

express.

Treatment of Entries

DARE

angels',

way of knowing how

entries are normally presented in three parts: the

opening section, the definition, and the supporting quotaThe first part, using many abbreviations, conveys the basic information about each entry: headword or -words, part of speech, pronunciation, variant forms, etymology, geotions.

graphic range, usage, cross-references, the second part, meanings

(if

and

more than one)

there are

be).

are

and

Entry

pronoun, adj adjective,

is

used for cross-references

prominence to dates and regionally.

Most entry forms are single words, but there are also numerous compounds and phrases. All are entered under the standard spellings or under established dialect cross-references at variant spellings.

—

19

spellings,

with

Entries for which there

was no established spelling those recorded by phonetic transcription or on disks or audiotapes have been spelled by analogy with the most similar standard spellings and with due attention to etymology. Examples: ooch over, to move oneself along (as on a bench); patalca and kitarber, variants of

—

Entries are strictly alphabetical, except for spaces or punc-

tuation marks, which are taken into account only as they

otherwise identical form

down

the alphabet.

to the vexing question of whether to spell

compounds

open, hyphenated, or solid (coal hod, coal-hod, coalhod),

DARE follows Webster's Third New International Dictionary except in the rare instances

when new evidence indicates that

a form should be spelled otherwise. (Quotations from written sources of course reproduce the spelling of the source.)

When variant forms are almost equal in frequency, they are The choice then rests on such considerations as etymology, alphabetic convenience, and clarity of presentation. When one variant is clearly more equally usable as the headword.

taken as the headword; the others are listed after part of speech and pronunciation, preceded by "also." ExamAlso cabbage bean. ple: cabbage pea frequent,

art article,

prep

used occasionally in

ppl adj participial adjective.

Verb phrase is the label for a verb regularly construed with an adverb and forming a loose unit with it: fall away, hog down. It is also used for set verb-plus-object phrases, such as eat dried apples, to

catalpa.

As

adv adverb,

this position are exclam exclamation, phr part particle, and phrase. Noun includes single words and also compound nouns and those derived by conversion from other parts of speech. Examples: arrow, arrow chase, Adam-and-Eve root, boiled owl, carry-in. Phrasal nouns are treated simply as nouns. Virtually any noun can be used attributively; DARE notes attributive uses that seem significant. Verb is a general label; transitivity or intransitivity is not indicated unless there is immediate need to note the distinction. The definition makes it evident whether the use being illustrated is transitive or intransitive. Nonfinite verb forms are labeled infin infinitive, pple participle, vbl n verbal noun,

Form

move an

v verb,

Because standard senses are

necessary. Boldface type

to give

tions immediately following the entry forms: n noun, pron

preposition, conj conjunction, intj interjection. Other labels

if

not normally treated, the historical sequence of senses is sometimes not obvious. Editorial notes are included when

deemed

The traditional nine parts of speech are indicated by abbrevia-

necessary (see, for

numbered, with alphabetic subdivisions example, the treatment of

editorial notes. In

Parts of Speech

become pregnant.

Adjective phrase, adverb phrase, preposition phrase, and

conjunction phrase are so labeled. Examples: dry-headed, adj phr; side by each, adv phr; over against, prep phr; as how, conj phr.

Distinction

is

made between

interjection

and exclamation:

the interjection stands apart from syntactic context and has

no formal syntax of its own, whereas the exclamation has its syntax, surface or underlying, and may be joined to the adjacent contextual unit. Examples of interjections: ooch! phooeyl Crimanetly! Examples of exclamations: Andy-over! King's ex! Carry me out with the tongs! A few entries could not be classified with any of these labels. They have morphological status as affixes (prefix, infix, suf-

own

fix)

or inert phonetic units. Examples:

a, ker-,

-ma-.

it is

.

.

.

Such entries as the plant name angel's-trumpet raise the problem of the apostrophe. Attested written forms are angel's,

19. ster's

Except in rare cases, the headword spellings follow those of WebNew International Dictionary of the English Language

Third

(Springfield,

MA: Merriam,

1961).

a

.

Introduction

XIX

badly, with apostrophes sprinkled wherever the pronuncia-

Pronunciation

Pronunciation

is

indicated for entries only

when

DARE has

supporting oral data, recorded in phonetically written form or

on phonograph disks or audiotapes. No pronunciations inferred from spellings are given. Pronunciations follow the indication of part of speech and are given in broad International Phonetic Association (IPA) characters enclosed in verthose in which writers tical lines. Pronunciation-spellings

—

have sought to suggest actual pronunciation through spelling are also listed fully. The reader may infer the pronuncia-

—

tion

from

these,

up to a point; but such inferences must not be

tion does not agree with standard spelling; others succeed

by using a simple "phonetic" representation. To indifor example. th 'ough signals to the eye, which then translates for the ear

better

cate an "r-less" pronunciation of through,

In each case, of course, context confirms the intended

respelling in the quotations are generally retained.

Forms of

than IPA are updated to it; otherwise, as with other quotations, they are unchanged. The only variances from IPA characters are c, j, s, z, used respectively for IPA t$, (I3, J, j according to current widespread American transcription earlier

practice. Instead >, *,

of the IPA

shift signs ±, t, h, h,

DARE uses

v

A ,

,

following Linguistic Atlas practice, to indicate positions of

and farfrom the positions of "cardinal" vowels. Narrow IPA transcriptions, when given, are placed in brackets. Occasionally, to avoid misunderstanding, a hyphen is used to indicate that a disyllabic vowel cluster rather than a dipharticulation respectively higher, lower, farther back,

ther forward

thong

is

intended, as in carry

Eye-dialect spellings are those which an author uses intenis substandard and even though those spellings corre-

tionally to suggest that a character's speech

that the person

spond

is illiterate,

Cum,

to pronunciations that are perfectly standard.

thawt for come, sleigh, thought are phonetically correct

slay,

but suggest that the character has had little schooling. Eyedialect was widely used as a device of folksy or popular humor

by such nineteenth-century writers as Artemus Ward and Petroleum V. Nasby, and in this century by Ring Lardner. The gradual settling down of a new word, often a loanword from a foreign language, into an accepted American form may sometimes be followed through variant spellings. For example, Spanish vaquero, borrowed into southwestern usage, includes

among

its

variant spellings: 1827 bakhara;

1847 baccaro; 1862 bukkarer; 1873 buccahro; 1889, 1910 buckayro; 1890 buckhara; 1900 buccaroo; 1907, 1919 buck-

These are pronunciation-spellings that attempt to

aroo.

render the foreign word as said by speakers of American

|'kae-i|.

English.

Its

established

form

— in

varies until a standard spelling

this case

becomes

with a peculiar adaptation to the

influence oi-aroo or -eroo, a suffix that

Variant Spellings

mean-

ing.

taken as equivalent to recorded speech.

Pronunciations given phonetically or by various kinds of

—

two-step process; thoo, by contrast, signals directly to the ear.

became popular in the

early part of the twentieth century.

Variant spellings from written sources are recorded in

DARE

Though some of the

spelling variants recorded

may

indi-

both pronunciation and orthography. Up to a point, as noted, past pronunciations can be inferred from past spellings; sometimes, also, variant spellings make it possible to follow the stages through which new or unfamiliar words

word formation, and other

acquire settled forms.

language. Alternate spellings are usually listed alphabetically,

for reasons of

DARE differentiates among

spelling-pronunciations, pro-

and eye-dialect spellings. A spellingpronunciation is one in which a speaker follows the written form of a word, pronouncing all the letters even though some of them are properly silent or have other values than the ones he or she gives them. For example, the speaker may pronounce the / in palm, calm, balk, chalk, or give full value to all the letters of boatswain and colonel. Spelling-pronunciations

seem trivial (and a few no doubt are), they have value the aggregate. As noted, they may help to show changes in

vidually in

pronunciation, naturalization of loanwords, processes of

developments

historical

in the

but are sometimes grouped by similarity of form.

nunciation-spellings,

are a byproduct of the shortcomings of English orthography, which has more than one value for many letters or combinations of letters and more than one way of spelling the same sound. Past methods of teaching spelling in the schools by letters and syllables have contributed to the production of many spelling-pronunciations in folk and regional speech. In this instance, writing brings about changes in speech. Pronunciation-spellings are those in which a writer tries to represent the nonstandard pronunciation of a speaker. The

word calm, with the regional

variants |kam|, |kaem|, |kam|,

|korm|, |kalm|, appears in writing not only in the standard

do

way

any variant but does not specify the one used) but also as cam, ca'm, carm, cyaam. Some of these may merely indicate that the writer was a bad speller. Others may be attempts to reflect some nuance of a specific variant. Most often the writer is trying to characterize an individual, fictional or not, through his speech. Some writers do this very (which

will

for

Etymology

DARE does

not give etymologies for

all entries.

Those well

treated in general dictionaries need not be repeated.

Com-

pounds or phrases whose components are standard in form and sense, such as Abolition War, about to die, acting pole, bullneck, bluejoint, need no formal etymology. When appropriate, DARE indicates how the phrase differs from the sum of its components. Here etymology and definition work together.

Etymologies and explanations of origins appear in square They are given, when possible, for certain types of

brackets. entries: 1

Words and phrases that most other dictionaries do not Examples: Abe Lincoln fence, bobbasheely.

treat. 2.

—

—

usually traced only words or phrases proximate source language. Examples: aber nit, abri,

Foreign loans

to the

aguardiente, apee. 3.

Any

entry in which an existing etymology can be im-

proved. Examples: abiselfa, appaloosa. 4. Entries in

which nonstandard forms or meanings require

explanation. Examples: ace-boon-coon, amarugian, anchor ice.

.

Introduction

XX

A distinction is sometimes made between echoic and imitative (abbreviated imit),

names derived by

echoic referring to

similarity of sounds, imitative referring to instances in

which

some feature other than sound is prominent. Thus zoom would be called echoic; zig-zag would be called imitative.

When

an origin

is

unknown

but

DARE's

research has

turned up possibly relevant information, this recorded as an aid to future research.

is

guardedly

If a headword has been found to be a trademark, listed The Trademark Register of the United States, this fact

in is

etymology or in a note. DARE's entries reflect and make no judgments as to the legal status of the word. stated in the

actual observed usage

Quotations Like other historical dictionaries,

DARE

uses dated quota-

tions to support the definitions. In choosing

which examples

to use, the editors have preferred "defining" quotations to

word or phrase being illustrated is merely mentioned or used in passing. Original sources have been preferred to derivative ones. As to the choice and number of quotations, the editors have sought to give the earliest example found in American use, at least one per century, and a late or recent one. Quotations should also illustrate and justify the those in which the

geographical label or note. Quotations are placed in brackets

OED) when they do not exactly illustrate the entry because of differences in form, sense, or region of use. An important feature of the documentation is the use of (as in

Examples taken from Dialect Notes are among and the PADS word lists have all been taken into the files. American Speech has been fully read. The Linguistic Atlas materials (including unpublished workbook notes taken by the fieldworkers) have been used copiously, as have the Hanley recordings and the DARE audiotapes. But of course the most valuable part of the entire corpus is the Data Summary made from the DARE QRs. These oral sources are examples of unedited, genuine American usage by native speakers throughout the nation whose regional and social attachments are known. Next in value are such written materials as diaries, personal letters, unedited accounts of travel, adventure, and daily life; these are as close to actual usage as any written materials can be. After these come regional literature written by authors who knew their regions thoroughly and did not romanticize oral sources.

Geographical Labels

the earliest obtainable; these

Areas within the United States are popularly understood in is no general agreement on what such

different ways; there

terms as North, South, Middle West include or exclude. In the interest of uniformity, the editors of DARE devised a list of geographical divisions for use in the entries. These geographic labels are often qualified with esp (for especially) or the

somewhat stronger

chiefly. In

quoted matter, of course, the

authors' labels have been respected. (See

The DARE Map and

Regional Labels, pp. xxiii-xxxv, for the divisions

and

list

of geographical

their abbreviations.)

Usage Labels

As noted

earlier, the editors

of

DARE

have sought to keep

usage labels and notes factual and objective, to describe usage it was during the period of primary data 1965-1970), never to say how it should be or to express the editors' opinions about it. (Other people's opinions, frequently expressed in the quotations, often throw light on changes of attitude over the years.) Emotionally loaded labels such as illiterate, vulgar, provincial have not been used. Labels give information of four kinds: ( ) amount of use, as

as

it

(or as

is

collecting,

1

rare, occas,freq, usu; (2) currency, as obs, arch, old-fash, hist;

of user, as rural, Gullah, grade-school educ; (4) manner of use, as joe, derog. 20 (All abbreviations are identified in the List of Abbreviations, pp. clii-clvi.)

(3) type

The

basis of

many

of DARE's usage labels

is

furnished by

the social factors mentioned earlier: the informants' age, sex, race, level

of education, and type of community. When these some notable way, varying from the average, a

correlate in label

is

called for.

For example, in qu. H35,

for

dropped eggs,

83 percent of the responses were from old informants, whose percentage in the total of informants answering was 70 per-

somewhat old-fash was clearly called for. beau dollar, 79 percent of the responses were

cent; thus the label

In qu. U27, for

from Black informants; thus the speakers was justified. These are further overtones.

label espfreq

statistical

Among older writers of this kind might be mentioned Edward Eggleston and Joel Chandler Harris; among more recent ones Marjorie Kinnan Rawlor stereotype their characters.

ings, Julia Peterkin,

and William Faulkner. But many reand cliches, have

gional writers have accepted stereotypes

exaggerated or overdone the regional speech, or, worse, have got

it

wrong. The editors have been wary of this class of and have quoted from it cautiously if at all.

literature

With

travel accounts a difficulty arises.

Suppose a native of

Massachusetts writes about his journey to Texas.

Two regions

and two kinds of usage are involved here: the traveler's home idiom as he writes, and the Texan usages on which he comments. The editor must keep these apart. Quotations of data from DARE QRs are necessarily formulaic, and therefore may not be immediately easy to read. But one soon becomes accustomed to them, and as they contain the most valuable data, the reader is advised to be patient. They give the question asked in the QR, with its code, and list the responses, with the codes of the informants responding so.

The question viated,

is sometimes given in full, sometimes abbresometimes only referred to, according to evident need.

among Black

statements with no

21

Labels are given to help the reader to a clearer sense of the

geographic or social status of a word or phrase: they cannot be

expected to be exhaustive or absolute. They are valid as far as

DARE evidence goes — no farther. Fuller detail can be found in the data base in the DARE archive.

20. Jocular implies intentional or self-aware joking by an individual;

humorous implies a wider consensus. 2 The computerized map-making program works out

1 statistics on which quite exact application of usage labels may be based. For example, it sorts on the exact numbers and identities of informants responding with the specific word or phrase being examined, and on each of the five social factors about each informant. For examples of the use of such statistics, see animal 1 all in, all the, and their usage notes. ,

.

Introduction

XXI

text of the

an author's works known to have been published

is

in similar situations.

QR, see pp. lxii-lxxxv.) Every an implicit cross-reference to the Data Summary in the final volume, which lists every question and every response. DARE quotations therefore display in condensed form the best oral evidence, to which other sources are addi(For the

full

question code

4.

A work

in

The Bibliography

volume

in the final

lists

every source

quoted in DARE, giving the reader all the facts necessary to track a quotation back to its origin. To save space, short-titles

DARE entries.

are used in the most important

Short-titles retain the first or

noun or verb and enough other words to Simon Ansley O'Ferrall, A Ramble of Six Thousand Miles through the United States of America, becomes 1832 O'Ferrall Ramble; William Prince, A Short Treatise on Horticulture, becomes 1828 Prince Horti-

contains a date other than the

title

date of publication. This occurs in almanacs and in the

annual publications of societies and governmental depart-

DARE reference the first date given is the date of

ments. In the

tional.

which the

and

earlier,

TX Almanac for 1870; 1850 MI

publication. Examples: 1869

State Ag. Soc. Trans, for 1849.

Material recollected from a time considerably earlier

5.

One

than the date of the publication. Example: 1962 Morison

MA (as of 1900).

Boy's Boston 54

ensure identification. Examples:

Cross-references

In a dictionary that pays special attention to variance of

culture.

forms, there

Dating of Quotations

which they are

ences. In

call

No problem

of dating arises in quoting from a book that was

printed only once, but other situations are

example, one that

was

first

may want

printed in

1

more difficult. For

to quote

from a record dated 1695

705 and

is

now

volume will tell all this, but the DARE entry will never give more than two dates, the earliest and latest: here 1695 (1970). This is enough to identify the source and say that the original record was not used, but the facsimile. Any single date tells the reader that the original source was used. When a single date is given, pagination of the quotation is from that edition; otherwise it is from the edition published at the final

second date. This is the general rule, but a number of complexities had to

DARE uses

five

standard forms for indicating

dates: 1.

date

2.

date (date)

variants are cross-referred to the entry under

treated.

date in date

4.

date Author Title [for/of date] [any of the above]

The date of the

Author

Title (as

Many

Any

cross-reference in bold type

is

to a

DARE entry. Definitions

The

and Sense Divisions

intention in

DARE

of [date])

which the quotation microform reproductions. Example:

definitions

occasionally happens, a

The date of the first edition of a work plus that of the later edition from which the DARE quote was taken. Situations in

to use standard but

When,

word of popular speech

as

suits the

purpose better than a standard one, it may be used as well. Natural objects (plants, animals) are defined in everyday terms and also, when identifiable, with their Latin genus-species names. When the only evidence is in a single quoted source, or when the source gives an adequate definition, no other

is

usually given.

may be preceded by: (1) grammatical notes such as also attrib, constr as pi, in passive usage; (2) delimiters Definitions

Ofcattle, Among loggers; (3) semantic

indicators such as fig, transfi in ironic use. Synmay be defined simply by cross-reference to the best-

stylistic

onyms known equivalent elsewhere in the Dictionary. The division of senses is a necessity of presentation. Most sense divisions are easily set at

193SFWP Guide MN.

is

simple words, to avoid the technical or recondite.

earliest edition in

appeared. Also used for

cross-references within entries

the reader's attention to synonyms, related forms, or

such as In marble play,

3.

1

DARE,

analogous forms.

or

5.

necessarily a high proportion of cross-refer-

accessible only in a

1970 facsimile of an 1870 printing. The Bibliography in the

be dealt with.

is

up on the

basis of the quotations

number of borderline cases, or the other of the line. Where

hand. But there are inevitably a

which must be put on one

side

2.

which

this

same

plates (not

format

is

used include:

from

(a) a later printing

reset type); (b) a

new

from the

edition with

complete resetting of type, therefore usually with different pagination and possible revisions in the text;

(c)

a photofac-

simile edition of an earlier work; (d) a

posthumous edition of undated material, using ante with the author's date of death as the date of composition, as in al862 (1865) Thoreau Cape Cod; (e) a diary, with the two dates referring to the dated entry and the date of publication. 3. Matter quoted in a later publication: the first date is that of the quoted matter, the second that of the work in which it is quoted. Examples: 1789 in 1889 Washington Writings; 1637 in 850 CT (Colony) Pub. Rec. This form is used for letters or speeches quoted in a biography, collections of government documents and historical society publications, collections of

they are put rests ultimately on the editors' perception, experi-

and feel for the language. The sequence of senses is ideally

ence,

many

historical

and

logical,

but

terms, especially those of everyday speech, exist in use

first known appearance in writing. Senses may also develop simultaneously in more than one direction.

long before their

When dated evidence is lacking and more than one sequence of development seems logical, lish

it is

often impossible to estab-

the exact filiation of senses. Clear presentation

is

then the

best resort.

James Hulbert, second

editor of the Dictionary of American

English, wrote in his almost poetic "Consolation of Lexicog-

raphy":

1

I

know

of no more enjoyable intellectual activity than

working on a dictionary. Unlike most research, lexicogra-

Introduction

phy

XXII

rarely sends

one on

fruitless quests.

One does

not

devote days, months, or even years to testing an hypothesis it is not tenable, or to attempting to prove a theory only to have to conclude

only to decide that collect evidence to

that sufficient facts are

no longer in existence

to clinch

it.

It

does not make one's life anxious, nor build up hopes only to have them collapse. Every day one is confronted by new

spelling of entries

— only to have the findings condensed into

a few inconspicuous lines no different, in appearance, from

The editors have repeatedly had to settle for inconclusiveness when in their hearts they felt that further evidence could be found "out there somewhere" if only they could abandon all else and go in pursuit of it. But or at least the guarantee that a that way madness lies the easy and obvious entries.

—

problems, usually small but absorbingly interesting; at the end of the day one feels healthily tired, but content in the

tangible, published dictionary will never be

thought that one has accomplished something and ad-

how and when

vanced the whole work towards This picture

is

its

completion. 22

broadly true, but the

tint is

promise

is

is

too rosy.

To

beyond human accomplishment. Com-

inescapable.

On

occasion, contrary to Hulbert's

optimistic words, editors have spent days, months,

years in tracking

down

must learn

to let go. If

made. One of the

— sometimes painfully —

all facts

is

are equal in the eyes of

Science, the realities of the world are fraught with inequality.

attempt a work of the scope of DARE is to give hostages to imperfection. The task of covering all the regional variation in

American English

things a lexicographer

and even

In

DARE

variety

one also that

To

this task they

thought, and

ment

will testify to the

and creativeness of human language, and

of the English language as States.

work of wondrous

the editors have sought to produce a

useful scholarship,

much

hope.

it is

specifically

used regionally in the United

have given

many

years,

much

May DARE prove a worthy monu-

to their labors.

individual items, correcting biblio-

graphic references, finding original editions, establishing correct authorship, dates, pagination, the exact

wording and

22.

J.

R.

Hulbert, Dictionaries British

Deutsch, 1955), 42-43.

and American (London:

The

DARE Map and Regional Labels

by Craig M. Carver

How The

to

Read a

large cities constitute

DARE Map

example, has 22

DARE map is designed to illustrate visually the regional

distributions of naire.

Though

United

States,

words and phrases

elicited

by the question-

it

resembles the conventional areal

it

appears distorted because

it

map

of the

displays popula-

This makes Nevada, for example, a tiny wedge of a state, while New York, in reality half the size of Nevada, is a large elongated shape one quarter of which is the bulb-like protrusion of New York City. Despite their abstracted shapes, the states have the same general spatial relationship to each other on the DARE map as tion density rather than land area (see figure

1

l).

they do in reality, with a few exceptions, such as Maine's

boundary with Massachusetts and the missing boundary between Wisconsin and Iowa. Also, Alaska and Hawaii are joined to the mainland. The overall area of the map is almost completely filled in by the 1002 DARE communities, which are usually symbolized as large dots (figure 2), each dot representing a single community where one questionnaire was completed. Each community is assigned a position on the map defined by a set of x-y coordinates, which the computer uses to locate and plot the individual informant responses. Figure 3 displays the communities on a conventional and, is

map

when compared with figure 2, shows how the DARE map

distorted.

On

the conventional

map, the communities are

concentrated in the most populous areas of the country, so

much so that to fit them all on the map we have had to enlarge the scale of the northeast. At the

same time the communities The DARE map, by

of the western states are widely scattered.

contrast, compresses the western states while

expanding the eastern states, creating a relatively uniform distribution of communities across the map. This makes it easier to see the clustering of the communities where a given

more populous

response

is

recorded.

Figure 4 shows, in their relative positions, the informant

many communities. New York City, for

DARE communities and thus

Because most of the map's area is composed of juxtaposed communities, the space that normally exists between towns is absent. Durango, for example, is sandwiched between Moab, Utah (UT11-15) to the west and Trinidad, Colorado

(C022-27)

to the east (see figure 4),

Though

the

DARE map

some

the

whereas

in reality

it is

almost directly

north of Buckingham. Perhaps the greatest distortion occurs in the relationship

between Fredericksburg (11) and Capron

which on the

DARE map are displaced east and west of

each other separated by Washington, D.C., when in actuality Fredericksburg is more than a hundred miles north of Ca-

more than one village or post single community. For example,

important

Such distortions

address constitutes a

inevitable deforma-

DARE version of Virginia in figure 5, Charlottesville (9) is

pron.

office

some

an idea of the degree to which some communities have been displaced from their actual locations. The numbers on the DARE inset in figure 5 are not informant numbers but place markers for the 28 communities in Virginia and the 5 in the District of Columbia and its suburbs; they correspond to the numbers on the geographical map. Although the DARE map is generally oriented according to the compass points, the specific spatial relationships among the communities are occasionally skewed. For example, in

were returned and have no other signifi-

rural areas

is

tion. Figure 5 gives

(12),

In

roughly retains the relative loca-

tions of the communities, there

answering different sections. For example, Colorado informants 11-16 each answered parts of the questionnaire for Durango. The informants' numbers were assigned arbitrarily cance.

in reality they are

the regional distributions.

east of Buckingham (8),

as the questionnaires

when

hundreds of miles apart. Not every space on the DARE map, however, indicates a community. There are empty areas that do not correspond to any actual geographical feature, such as the gap to the south of Durango. These gaps are created by the inherent difficulty of superimposing a horizontal-vertical arrangement of communities on a map shaped to resemble the United States. With the exceptions of the small areas in southwestern Ohio and to the east of Tennessee and the stylized portions of Maine and Massachusetts, the largest empty spaces on the map occur in the West, where this difficulty is increased by the higher ratio of land area to population. Although the empty areas are apparent when the map is filled, as in figure 2, they are virtually invisible on the maps in the body of the Dictionary (which are never completely filled), and they are not large enough to interfere with

numbers for all 002 communities where questionnaires were answered. Although there is only one questionnaire per community, more than one informant was usually involved, each 1

22 question-

naires (see figure 9).

at the local level,

at the regional level.

however, become

From DARE's

less

satellite view,

infor-

mants 34 and 35 in Maryland, who answered different sections of the same questionnaire, were from the towns of Still Pond and Chestertown in Kent County. At the same time,

1

.

To

be more specific, the

map

is

distorted to reflect the

number of

DARE Informants in each state, this number being roughly proportional to the state populations as of the

1

960 census.

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXIV

Figure

1.

The

DARE map of the United

States with a conventional

map

for

comparison.

Figure the

2.

DARE's

DARE map.

1002 communities on

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXV

Figure

3.

DARE's 1002 communities on

a conventional

map.

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXVI

>>

o.

E UJ

5

1>

E

c c to

0)

00

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXVII

DC

7

1

2

3

4

8

9

10

11

2

3

4

5

12 13

14

/

VA

19

20

22

21

23

24

25

26

27

17

16

15

6

-J

/

28 I

(2)Winchesier #

s

\y^ Leesburg '^"X^gWASHINGTON, 1" D-C-

^V

(4)Warrenton

*

(l)Timbe^ille.

*

'

(11)£redricksburg (9)Chartottesville

(6)Warm Springs.

(1

^

/ (7)Lexington»

0)Loulsa

(i4)Montross

.

(15)Caret*V

ns

t* /

J

1

'!^" (ff ^J ^V% W 17

•(25)Lynchburg •(23)Salem

/

(13)RICHM0ND^

(8)Buck,ngham

(SJB^hanan.

^___^

(18)Chmcoteague

(2 8)Petersburg»

(16)§mithfield

(21)Wytheville

(24)Chatham (22)Hillsville

(27)Lawrenceville

(26)Scottsburg

•(12)Capron

'

5. The relative positions of DARE communities in Virginia and Washington, D.C. The numbers correspond to the same communities on both the DARE map and the conventional map.

Figure

the details recede

and a new picture unique

geography emerges

— a view of the nationwide distribution of

American speech.

It is at this

level that the

in linguistic

DARE Map

is

intended to be used in conjunction with descriptive labels to give a reliable impression of the overall regionally of a word.

For purposes that require a more exact picture, such as the drawing of isoglosses (lines showing boundaries formed by the distribution of particular features), community locations can be transferred to a conventional

and the

map

with the aid of figure 4

List of Informants.

Figure 6 illustrates the general reliability of the

DARE map

by comparing the ways a regional expression is plotted on it and on a conventional map. Both show the distribution of informants who gave the response mosquito hawk (= dragonfly) and those who gave the response skeeter hawk to question R2. The distribution of this expression is a paradigm for the southern dialect region. The

DARE map gives a concise visual

statement of the overall clustering of responses. For example, it is

just as easy, if not easier, to see

the conventional cially

map

DARE map as on

that the variant skeeter

hawk

is

espe-

concentrated in the South Atlantic states from North

Carolina to northern Florida. scatter

tering

on the

— that

The

The DARE map is essentially a

diagram that economically is,

of clus-

degrees of regionally.

clustering of mosquito

even here the

illustrates degrees

map

reveals

hawk is a notably tight one, but some stray responses deep in

Yankee realize,

territory.

As the user of

this Dictionary will

language refuses to stay within

soon

geographical

strict

boundaries and almost always ignores political or state boundaries. Some of the apparent anomalies here, however,

can be explained using the field records. Occasionally, when an informant was slow in responding to a question, the fieldworker would mention a number of possible responses. The fieldworker was instructed, in such

mark "sugg" (suggested) beside the response in the questionnaire. The two anomalous instances of skeeter hawk in Ohio are both marked "sugg" in the questionnaires. The unexpected occurrence of mosquito hawk in Minnesota, Wiscases, to

consin,

and Michigan

explained by the biographies of the

is

informants: four of these informants frequently vacationed or

wintered in Florida or other parts of the South;

it

was

very probably, that they picked up this memorable the dragonfly.

the

Such supplemental information

DARE entries when

is

fairly

appropriate.

more complex

common

for

provided in

Figure 7 shows the relationship between the two regionally

there,

name

set

of responses.

It

maps for a

also illustrates a

situation in linguistic geography: the comple-

mentary distribution of synonymous expressions. In this example the synonyms are folk names for any of various wasps that build a nest of mud: mud dauber, dirt dauber, and mud wasp (qu. R20). Each of these expressions is used in a more or less distinct region which forms the counterpart of the other

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

Figure 6. the

The

distribution of mosquito

DARE map and a conventional

hawk and

map.

XXVIII

skeeter

hawk on

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXIX

Figure

7.

The

distribution of

mud

wasp,

mud dauber, and

dirt

dauber on the DARE map and a conventional map. When mud wasp and mud dauber occur in the same community, an open triangle is used. If dirt dauber occurs in the same community as either of the two other responses, only dirt dauber is indicated. On the conventional map, the largest square symbol represents four or more communities where mud wasp was recorded: the smaller square (as in Vermont) represents two or three communities.

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXX

mud wasp is primarily used in the North and North Midland; mud dauber primarily in the Midland and West; and dirt dauber in the South and South Midland. DARE handles complementary regionalisms with a combination of cross-references and contrast maps. In the entry for mud dauber, for example, both dirt dauber and mud wasp are cross-referenced. In addition, the reference "See Map and Map Section" directs the user not only to the map accompatwo. 2 In this case,

nying the entry but also to the Map Section of the final volume. That section of the Dictionary contains maps that plot

two or three regionally contrasting terms

figure 7.

It

also contains

like those in

maps that illustrate the regionally of

a response in terms of one of the five social variables:

commu-

and sex. Figure 8 maps the response for beau dollar (= a silver dollar) in terms of the race of the informants. It shows that this expression is used primarily by Black speakers, since 27 of the 34 informants were Black compared to the much smaller percentage of Blacks in the entire sample of DARE informants. But more important, it reveals that the spread of this term northward is the result of the migration of southern Blacks into the urban North. All of the informants in the North who gave the response beau dollar are Black and live in large cities, namely, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and

DARE Regional Labels A DARE entry may present

and usage; and with the findings of the fieldwork as maps accompanying certain entries. The maps do this by plotting the locations of all the informants who gave the same or closely variant responses to the questionnaire as summarized in the DARE quotation. 3 When their locations, represented by dots, cluster together or are clearly denser in one area than others, the response is considered regional. In history

represented in

this

way the maps give a visual definition of the specific region

of use.

DARE

nity type, age, education, race,

munities: urban, coastal,

and mountain,

geographical landmarks, relating the

as well as selected

DARE map to the con-

map of the United States. For example, what appear DARE map to be coastal communities in Mississippi

ventional

uses 37 basic labels to indicate regionality. In the

Dictionary entries these regional designations appear in bold type. Because few regional expressions strictly confine selves within sharp boundaries, fied

by such terms as

chiefly,

them-

DARE labels are often modi-

esp (especially), or a combina-

tion of formulas, such as widespread, but esp

common

in a

particular region, or throughout U.S., exc (except) in a partic-

ular region. These modifiers cannot be quantified precisely:

they merely serve to indicate generally the degree to which a

conforms to the regional in relation to one

particular distribution of informants

designation.

They can be defined only

another.

Trenton. Figure 9 shows the locations of three types of DARE com-

evidence of regionally in two

ways: with a selection of quotations, which also illustrate

Chiefly

means that most of the evidence, of which there is a

significant

amount,

quently, on the

is

confined to a particular area; conse-

maps the informant

responses tend to cluster

are not,

2. Although this situation occurs with some frequency, the reader should beware of assuming that for every expression used in only one part of the country there is a regional counterpart in other sections of the

actually coastline, as in

country. Often a nonregional term, one that

on the

and what appears to be inland territory is sometimes North Carolina. In addition, unified geographic features sometimes appear to be split, as is the case with the Missouri Ozarks, the South Carolina Appalachians,

and

New

— Boston, Louis, and Los Angeles — are

York's Hudson Valley.

Charleston,

New

also divided

on the map.

Orleans,

St.

Some

cities

is

is

standard or widely known,

a counterpart. 3.

When the number ofinformants given is greater than the number of

dots on the map, this

is

usually because

some informants gave

the

same

response to more than one question, and are thus counted more than once.

On

the

map, however, the community of each informant

is

repre-

sented by only one dot.

Figure 8. Social

beau

beau dollar (Qu. U27) black informants

B

white informants

W

dollar.

map

of the distribution of

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXXI

c

5 =

5

:

CD

O

i CD

(A ID

1-

Bill

< Hi

z D

c

5 2

c 3 o

(0

(0 (0 (0

O 5 oo O

c 3 E e o

o t*J

OS

c 'e3

*-»

c 3 O E C

O u e eg

X)

c

o o

J

©\ -

3 00

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXXII

Maps

dense pattern, and even the more scattered

in a relatively

1

-8

illustrate the regions specified

locations are generally near the area of high density. For

The

following alphabetical

example, mosquito hawk

and

tells

labeled chiefly Sth.

is

Especially (abbreviated esp) indicates regionality than chiefly, because there

fined to the given area. For the clustering

is

is less

maps

this

evidence con-

means

that the

not as dense. The exceptions are often distant or

widely scattered. Esp, however, itself to

somewhat weaker

modify a

label.

More

is

only occasionally used by

often

it is

used in formula with

other modifiers to designate a subregion within a larger conNth, esp NEast.

text, as chiefly

It

is

also often used with

widespread or scattered, as in widespread, but esp Sth, SMidl. Widespread means that an expression has considerable currency virtually everywhere in the United States. Scattered indicates wide dispersion but low density.

To designate

subdivisions of states the following scheme

is

which

map

illustrates

defines

all

by

DARE labels.

the regional labels

each region.

nGA, eKY, wMD, wNC, cPA, wSC, eTN, wVA, WV. Map 3 Atlantic: CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT. Map 5 C Atl (Central Atlantic): DC, DE, eMD, sNJ, ePA, eVA. Appalachians: neAL,

Map 4 Cent (Central): AR, KS, MO, NE, OK. Map 7 Delmarva: DE, eMD, eVA. Map 2 Desert (Desert Southwest): AZ, seCA, NM. Map 3 Gt Lakes (Great Lakes): nIL, nIN, MI, MN, nwNY, nOH, nwPA, WI. Map 7 Gulf States: AL, FL, LA, MS, eTX. Map 4

SW

Nth (Inland North): Nth except NEng. Map 8 KY, MS, TN. Map 7 Lower Missip Valley (Lower Mississippi Valley): AR, wKY, LA, MS, sMO, wTN. Map 5 Mid Atl (Middle Atlantic): MD, NC, SC, VA. Map 6 Midi (Midland): N Midi, S Midi, DC. Map 8 Inland

used:

Inland Sth (Inland South): AL,

North

nw

en

ne

cw

c

ce

sw

cs

se

Missip-Ohio Valleys: IA,

West

Map

East

Each state is thought of as having three divisions in each of the four compass directions, plus a central area. The state code is two capital letters, as used by the U.S. Postal Service; the subdivisions are in lower-case letters preceding the state code.

For example, the subdivisions of Ohio can be referred to as nwOH, cnOH, neOH, and so on. These abbreviations are often used with the quotations, to name a speaker's home area or to indicate the locale of the quotation. They are rarely used as regional generalizations for the whole entry. Because the states are not rectangular, the scheme is only approximate, but for purposes of DARE it takes the reader reasonably close. With a living language, and without knowing the responses of every speaker,

it

sIL,

KY, MN, MO, OH, WI.

IL, IN,

6

Missip Valley (Mississippi Valley): AR, IA, IL, wKY, LA, MN, MO, MS, wTN, WI. Map 5 N Atl (North Atlantic): NEng, nNJ, seNY. Map 7 N Cent (North Central): IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, WI. Map 4 NEast (Northeast): NEng, NJ, NY, nPA. Map 2

South

would be misleading to pretend to any higher

degree of exactness.

The

list

definitions of the regional labels themselves are pri-

MA, ME, NH, RI, VT (eNEng =east of Connecticut R.; wNEng =west of Connecticut R). Map 8 N Midi (North Midland): nDE, c,sIA, cIL, nMD, NE, sNJ, cOH, c,sPA, sSD, nWV. Map Nth (North): nIA, nID, nIL, nIN, MI, MN, MT, ND, NEng, nNJ, NY, nOH, OR, nPA, nSD, WA, WI, nWY. Map NW (Northwest): ID, OR, WA (MT, WY). Map 2 Ozarks: nwAR, swMO, neOK. Map 3 Pacific: CA, OR, WA. Map 5 Pacific NW (Pacific Northwest): nCA, OR, WA. Map 4 Plains States: eCO, KS, NE. Map 3 Rocky Mts (Rocky Mountains): wCO, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY. Map 3 NEng (New

England): CT,

1

1

tion of the Linguistic Atlas; North,

GA, NC, SC. Map 7 SE (Southeast): S Atl, AL, MS, TN. Map 2 S Midi (South Midland): nAL, AR, nGA, sIL, sIN, KY, nLA, nMD, c,sMO, nMS, wNC, sOH, neOK, TN, wSC, wVA, sWV. Map

are also used in defining areas.

Sth (South): c,sAL, sDE, FL, c,sGA, c,sLA, e,sMD, c,sMS, c,eNC, c,eSC, eTX, eVA. Map 1 (Southwest): AZ, sCA, NM, OK, TX. Map 2 (Upper Midwest): IA, MN, NE, ND, SD. Map 4 Upper Upper Missip Valley (Upper Mississippi Valley): c,nIL, IA, MN, nMO, WI. Map 5

marily based on the organization and evidence of the Linguistic Atlas projects and on general regional patterns that commonly occur in the DARE maps. For example, Upper Midwest and North Central States are based on the organiza-

North Midland, South (among others) are based both and South Midland, Midland, on DARE maps and Linguistic Atlas fieldwork; and South Atlantic, Appalachians, Mississippi Valley, and West Midland are based almost exclusively on the DARE maps. Settlement patterns and the geographical evidence from quotations

For those regional labels which are inductively derived from fieldwork, the intent is to define broadly the geography of particular usages, not to discover the specific boundaries of dialect regions. In other words, the regional label in an entry is a description of the actual distribution of a usage (insofar as is

known)

in

terms of predefined sections of the country.

it

S

Atl (South Atlantic): FL,

1

SW

MW

Upstate NY (Upstate New York): all NY except NYC metropolitan area. Map 6 West (west of 100th parallel): wND, wSD, wNE, wKS,

wOK, wTX, and

all

points west.

Map 6

W Midi (West Midland): Midi except DC, DE, MD, sNJ, sPA.

Map

8

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXXIII

Desert

Map

3

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

Upper

Pacific

MW

XXXIV

NCent

NW

Map

4

Upper Missip Valley

Pacific

Lower Missip Valley

Map

5

Missip Valley

Upstate

West

Map

6

NY

The DARE Map and Regional Labels

XXXV

NAtl

Map

7

Inland Nth

NEng

Map

8

Language Changes Especially in American Folk Speech

Common

by Frederic G. Cassidy

Language is always changing. Within both standard and nonstandard vocabulary, certain changes of sound, form, and syntactic structure occur unpredictably, though following

known processes. Many of these changes occur more often folk usage than otherwise, to the point

characteristic of folk speech.

They

fall

differ, as in

from

hocus-pocus,

folk speech:

mumbo-jumbo,

dumdum,

flip-flap,

roly-poly.

Examples

hokey-pokey, jeepers-

creepers, streakity-strikity, super-duper.

in

where they become

roughly into four main

which are not mutually exclusive and are sometimes concurrent. These types are changes of word form, grammatical changes, derivational changes, and changes in pronunciatypes,

4.

Redundancy: Adding

synonymous or

word or phrase another that

is

nearly so, as in plentiful abundance, musical

The purpose is to ensure that the commumade, or to give emphasis. Redundancy is a

tune, period oftime.

nication

is

property of all natural language structure, but since

overused

tion.

to a

it is

folk speech:

often

condemned by

stylists.

it is

easily

Examples from

bare-naked, cabbage-kraut, dry drouth, ford

crossing, grape-vineyard, hawk-bird, horn bugle, ocean sea, I.

Changes of Word Form

1 Metathesis: The interchange of sounds within words, or, in compounds, the reversal of the component words. This kind of change has been present at all periods of the language. Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) had acsian and crudd. In the course of time the sounds [ks] and [ru] were reversed to [sk] and [ur], ultimately producing Modern English ask and curd. However, the ancient forms ax and crud survive in folk speech

tooth-dentist, tumbler-glass,

rifle-gun,

viper snake,

widow-

woman.

.

5. Stretching: Lengthening the pronunciation of a word by adding heavy stress to the initial syllable, which normally is weakly stressed. This is a device for emphasis, and examples

are recorded from the past, but

ples: bee-yutiful, dee-lighted,

has not permanently

it

fected the written forms of words.

Some

af-

current folk exam-

on-reasonable, re-dickilous.

today. Other folk examples: calvary cavalry, crips crisp, cu-

palo cupola, waps wasp, purty pretty, lectren lectern, aglore

Examples of reversed compounds: hoppergrass grasshopper, peckerwood woodpecker, ticktacks tactics, right-down downright, picktooth toothpick, pourdown downpour, everwhich whichever,

galore, prespire perspire, dientical identical.

cropout outcrop. 2.

Metanalysis:

The result of a shift in the juncture point or word so that a sound belonging to

syllable division within a

one word is lost or transferred to an adjoining word. Middle English a nadder became an adder; similarly a napron became an apron and a numpere, an umpire. The shift can go in the other direction: Middle English an ewte became a newt; then once produced the nonce; an eke name became a nickname. Modern examples are disguised by established spelling, but pronunciation-spellings, such as not-a-tall for not at all and I-mo(n) + infinitive for I'm going (or gonna) -I- infinitive, reveal that the process is still active. Other examples: an aggie (marble) has produced a naggie; a nigh horsehas produced an eye horse. A good current example is the common phrase, "That's a whole nother ballgame." Iteration or reduplication: The kind of word-formation which a first component is echoed in the second. This process is found all over the world. In English there are three distinct types: simple, in which the same sound is repeated, as in pooh-pooh, goody-goody; graded, in which the internal stressed vowel changes, as in ding-dong, tick-tock, zigzag; and rhyming, in which only the initial consonants of the two parts 3.

in

6.

Folk-etymology or popular etymology: The change of an

unfamiliar word or phrase into a

more

form by semantic reanalysis (not always logical). Many examples from the past are found in plant names, as Old English wermod becoming wormwood, Latin ros marinus (sea dew) becoming rosemary, but the process is in wide current use. Sometimes it is indulged in humorously. Some current folk examples: high-bred hybrid, our beauties arbutus, shoemake sumac, very close or very coarse veins varicose veins, sandy Pete centipede, d. fist-to-cufffight fisticuff, brown kitties bronchitis, colored marbles cholera morbus, gamble (stick) gambrel. familiar

Aphetism or aphaeresis: The cutting off of a weakly from a word. Many words so shortened have become standard, as fence from defense, tend from attend, cute from acute, sport from disport. This process was 7.

stressed initial syllable

formerly

common

in poetic use: neath for beneath, lone for

alone, spite for despite. Folk

casion

occasion,

lasses

examples are

molasses,

ceptin

still

numerous:

excepting, pin-

ion opinion, deed indeed, timidatin intimidating, larmin

alarming. 8.

The addition to a word of an "inorganic" one unsupported by etymology. Such a sound

Epenthesis:

sound, that

is,

(also called intrusive, excrescent, or parasitic) usually de-

velops as a byproduct of the phonetic environment but

come

may

by analogy. This type of change has been in many words so produced have become established, standard forms. Intrusive also

in

progress throughout the history of English;

.

Language Changes

XXXVII

sounds are generally homorganic with adjoining sounds: they share one or more features of articulation, though differing in others. Thus b and m are bilabial, though b has no nasal quality. Examples of intrusive consonants:

Old English pymel is now thimble. Present folk words: chimbly chimney, fambly family. /d/ Middle English soun is now sound. Present folk words: oild oil, gownd gown, Hard liar. /b/

Present folk speech: conflab, dumbjloundered.

/I/

/m/

Present folk speech:

ampron apron,

Present folk speech: agnate agate, antic

/n/

mighty, minge midge, spink

Added

/r/

attic,

internally: crursh, daurter, horspital,

egg, warsh,

dror draw,

womern. Added

Emmar,

finally:

porched

potater.

to

moved into broader popular use): barf vomit, burp belch, chookee the orchard oriole, ooch push or of which have rapidly slide sideways,

whop

strike hard,

denly, zoon

with a

humming

twang

wuxtry

tang, twile

toil, twill

/t/:

.

Grammatical Changes Multiple negatives: The use of negative words added to an

already negative statement to intensify

/f/, /s/, /s/, /k/,

or /n/:

or twell

till,

wooze ooze,

extra.

million melon, year ear, yearly early, yearth earth.

/y/

Examples of intrusive vowels: spelled a: a-growed, a-make, a-many, athaletic, cyca-

/9/

lone, parairie, thataway, thisaway.

historical phases of the language. past:

Chaucer:

maner

"He

It

had

it

present in

is

nor no further in sport

all

literary status in the

never yet no vileynie ne sayde

wight." Shakespeare: "Love

no man

.

.

.

good

in

unto no earnest:

neither.'" In the eighteenth century,

however, under the influence of Latin grammar, this was replaced in the standard language by the "logical" principle,

according to which "not never" This principle

spelled e: umberella.

fal

zap smack or squash sud-

buzz.

medical or legal Latin, adopted into folk speech, are altered, sometimes with conscious humor. Examples: affidavy affidavit, collywobbles or golly marbles cholera morbus, epizoodick or epizooty epizootic, gumbo whackum gum guiacum, maniaporchia mania a potu, suppeeny subpoena.

acrost, attackt, chanst, orphant, skifft, varmint, wisht.

/w/

fly

False-learned words: Learned words, frequently from

13.

II.

words ending with

are created

every day in both speech and literature. Folk examples (some

1

Added

new ones

contains thousands of examples, and

screak,

scringe, scrunch, squench, strollop, strull. Ill

American Folk Speech

ager ague, chinar,

Prefixed to words beginning with /k/ or

/s/

minety

and span.

in

is

is

equivalent to "sometimes."

the basis of the widespread belief that "two

make a positive" (as in algebra), which is sometimes condemn even such unexceptionable examples of

negatives

I^l

spelled u: ellum elm, fillum film.

/i/

spelled

i:

grievious grievous, heinious heinous, mis-

used to litotes as

chievious mischievous.

The

9. Ellipsis or telescoping: Omission of internal sounds from words (rather than of words from syntactic structures). This

as

phenomenon of phonetic

ain't got

simplification

is

responsible for the

many words: Old English hlsefdige became lady, heafod head; for centuries boatswain has been pronounced bosun and forecastle, fo'c'sle. Pronunciation-spellings show that the process is much alive in present present standard form of

became

folk speech: a'ter after, cal'late calculate,

chirren children, consid'able,

Malapropism: The blundering substitution, for the intended word, of another similar to it in sound but having an altogether different meaning. Malapropism has seldom furnished new words to standard usage, but a number are found in folk usage: emancipated for emaciated, surrogated for 10.

and not

unlikely.

now

nonstandard, survives

one of the chief markers of folk speech.

emphasis, to show determination, and the

It

serves to give

like.

Examples: "I

nary none"; "I ain't never seen no men-folks of no

kind do no washin'" (1926 Kephart Highlanders 361); "I can't do nothin' ": "It's not here noplace." It is also found in

some single words:

unthoughtless, a blend of unthoughtful and.

thoughtless; irregardless (since

cap'm captain,

comftable, gov'ment, pres'dent.

not unfriendly

multiple negative, though

2.

ir-

means

not).

Multiple comparatives and superlatives: Use of either the

inflectional -(e)r, -fejst or the periphrastic more,

most markers

of comparison together. Chaucer: "As thilke love

is

the

more

grevous to perfourne, the more gretter the merite." Shakespeare: "This was the most unkindest cut of all." This is no longer acceptable in standard English but survives to extent in folk speech. Examples: betterer,

more lonesomer,

more

better,

some more

worser; bestest, bestmost, most

corrugated, ministrating for menstruating, expire tor perspire,

beautifuller,

mitigate for militate; calvary for cavalry (which also illustrates

loveliest, best-naturedest, worstest.

metathesis).

ample, "Get there fustest with the mostest," attributed to General Nathan Bedford Forrest, is used humorously today

1

Euphemism: The substitution of a softer word or phrase

1

one considered painful, obscene, profane, or otherwise offensive. Examples of avoiding the subject of death are very numerous: instead of die people say pass over, join one's for

ancestors, cross the great divide, cash in one's checks or check out,

kick the bucket, and so on. Another type works by

— that

3.

had ples:

Multiple plurals: literary status,

it

Though double

has been

common in folk speech. Exam-

cuit.

plural inflections.)

12.

Onomatopoeia or echoism: The formation of words by

imitation of sounds heard in nature. This

forming method in

all

known

is

a basic word-

languages. Standard English

pluralization has never

antses, centses, folkses, galluses, geeses, gentlemens,

jeanses, mices, oxens, tomatoeses.

is,

to avoid actually saying

famous American ex-

but was said seriously in its time as the highly emphatic statement of a practical soldier.

by altering the offensive word or phrase it. Examples: / vum I vow (nineteenth century), goldurn, jeepers criminy, son of a bis-

"mincing" enough

just

A

A triple plural is feet ses.

(It

be noted that many of these occur with the mutation plurals, which, taken as singulars, are overcorrected with

will

4.

Pleonastic subjects:

ing pronoun.

It is

found

A noun subject followed by an agreein all stages of English

languages as a device of identification.

and

in other

Examples: "Hosy he

.

Language Changes

cum down "Th'

in

American Folk Speech

stares" (1846 in 1848 Lowell

XXXVIII

Biglow Papers 2); t' see ye" (1861

ol Doctor, he's got a gre't cur'osity

Holmes Elsie Venner 2. 175); "So him and Tom they hitched up the mules" (1884 Lanier Poems 72); "Jim he hid in back o' th' jail-house" (1927 American Speech 3.10); "My second mister, he was took" (1938 Matschat Suwannee River 86); "Maw, she knows"; "The woman she bakes us a pone" (1926 1

Kephart Highlanders 112,

122).

In folk speech, the pattern of

making adverbs from

adjec-

without change of form is widespread and affects many words riot of Old English origin. Examples: It's actual true, tives

amazing good, awful nice, do

it

careful, love

lished as informal standard usage in

me tender.

becoming

(good, cold, nice) has gone to the point of

many

Real

estab-

parts of the

country.

used for participle: After the verb despise, and some others not so construed in standard use, folk speech often uses the infinitive: "I despise to go out nights" (1903 Dialect Notes 2.3 1 1 ); "I despise to see a fence growed up like that" (1942 American Speech 17.53); they wouldn't mind to fight us; I admire to get letters. (This evidently depends on the 9. Infinitive

5.

Double -ed and -ing:

When

a formerly separate syllable

-ed of past tense or past participle was reduced, in early

Modern

English, to -d or

-t

(as loved

becoming

loved, leaved

new reduced ending was sometimes not recognized for what it was, so a new -ed was often added to make past tense or past participle. Examples are numerous in becoming

left)

the

present folk speech: attackted, belongded, crepted, drownded, equipted, foalded foaled, minded,

stunned, tossted; bornded

Double

is

spaded spayed, stunded

a triple participle.

-ing occurs in folk speech only, with the older

of the participial suffix

[in].

form

Examples: fiddlinin, fishinin,

huntinin, loadinin, ridinin. 6. Use ofplural for singular: A number of nouns singular in meaning are plural in form. In general American usage, a

use of particular verbs;

hate to go, refuse to

it

would be good standard usage to say

fight, like to get.)

10. Strong and weak verbs: In the course of development from Old English to Modern English, the tendency has been for verbs to change over from the "strong" pattern (with internal vowel gradation to show tense differences, as sing, sang, sung or break, broke, broken) to the "weak" pattern (in which -(e)d or -/ is added to the base, as walk, walked or send, sent). Though all strong verbs have been subject to this

woods, a falls, a barrens, a narrows are plurally inflected though agreeing with a singular article and being singular in meaning. These are also well established in folk speech. Other

tendency, various ones have developed differently. Folk usage

folk examples: a forks of a tree, a stretchers, a teethache.

standard English. Examples:

(Feetsore,

an

adjective,

is

changed

similarly.)

has been generally altogether so.

more conservative than

Many Old

standard, but not

English verbs have

become weak

in

flee, past participle flogen; standard form fled ceorfan carve, past participle corfen; standard form carved

fleon

Use ofsingularfor plural: In terms of measurement such form is of ancient lineage, preserving in disguise the Old English pos7.

gieldan yield, past participle golden; standard form yielded.

asfoot, mile, pound, fathom, the apparently singular

punda, faePma. Folk examples: "I walked five mile"; "She gained ten pound"; "Eight foot deep." Shakespeare: "Full fathom five thy father lies." A very similar occurrence is found with a few other words: "He has sessive plural: fota, mila,

six cartridge left."

When mass nouns

are treated as count

nouns

in folk

may be used with plural syntax: "Will you have a few cabbage or squash?" "Pass me them cabbage." Contrariwise, a mass noun may be pluralized: "I wisht they wouldn't give us so many of them celeries" (1941 Faulkner speech, a singular form

Men

Working

198).

Use ofadjectivefor adverb: In Old English such adjectives brad broad, glsed glad, prxtig pretty, prud proud, smod smooth, soft soft, lang long, sceort short, lytel little, had corresponding adverbs ending in -e: brade broadly, glxde gladly, etc. Being so much alike, they were sometimes confused and, to avoid the confusion, -lice (like) was often added 8.

as

to the adjective: bradlice, glxdlice, etc. This has survived to

some

extent in the folk speech, as easy-like, smooth-like,

soft-like. More often -like was reduced phonetically to -ly, which has become a regular mark of the adverb in standard

English.

A few words have never submitted to the pattern: He worked long (not *longly), She stands tall (not *tally), and colloquially (in informal standard usage) some of the old forms are regularly used without -ly: Take it easy, sitting forms also exist, but the meaning is different: Take it easily means "without difficulty"; take it easy means "without fuss or excitement.")

pretty, cut

it

short. (For all

of these,

-ly

In

some of these,

the strong form survives in folk usage:

helpan help, part participle holpen; folk form holp creopan creep, past participle cropen; folk form crope

climban climb, past participle clomben; folk form clomb dragan drag, past participle drogen; folk form drug For some Old English weak verbs, however, strong forms have developed in folk usage: dyfan dive, dyfede dived; new folk form dove (now regionally established in the northern United States) wafian wave, wafode waved; new folk form wove pencan think, puhte thought; new folk form thunk. This proves the vitality of the strong pattern, as does also its effect on foreign loanwords, such as French arrive: standard arrive, arrived; folk form arrove.

The unmarked reflexive dative: The Old English reflexnouns and pronouns, meaning to or for, has come down to Modern English in disguise. In OE it had a form distinct from that of the accusative: for example, accusative mec, dative me. In present English, the direct and indirect objects are no longer distinct in form; me is used for both. Standard English reflexive dative pronouns have added -self; I 1 1

ive dative of

bought myself a hat; but in folk speech the old reflexive dative without -self survives: I bought me a hat; he kilt him a bear; they built them a house. 12. Overcorrection (or

hyperurbanism):

matical or pronunciation form

made

in

A change of gram-

an attempt to avoid

supposed incorrectness. Examples: an awfully lot; highfaluting for highfalutin; adding false -ing to words like chicken, mountain, muslin, making them chicking, mounting, musling. Edward Eggleston, in The Hoosier Schoolmaster, de-

.

Language Changes

XXXIX

picted an Indiana "lady"

Suffixation:

.

made by

be

word

At every stage

compounds, producing shorter words. Sometimes it is due to the operation of phonetic laws, a well-known example being Old English hlaf-weard becoming Middle English lord (initial hi was reduced to /; internal fs were often labialized, as also in hawk from OE hafoc; and w was vocalized). Most often,

new words may

however, a part of the phrase or compound is simply dropped, standard English examples being bus from omnibus, fan from

derivation, the addition of affixes to

Many

bases.

formed by the same

individual.

The eighteenth-century prejudice

against innovation or neologisms, fied, still

holds against

remain oddior only by the

rules,

not generally accepted, used only locally

occasional

words or

such formations are accepted without

question, but others, ties

in the language,

many

American Folk Speech

having "been

Derivational Changes

III.

1

who prided herself on

Bosting" (Boston).

at

in

though now greatly modi-

such formations in folk speech.

mob from Latin mobile vulgus, wig from periwig. The same forces are at work in popular speech, producing such words as copter helicopter, math mathematics, pra/professor,

fanatic,

which are generally accepted as informal standard English. Folk examples are not numerous: cat fever catarrhal fever, con consumption (tuberculosis), igg to ignore, ticky particular.

Suffixes so used include: -able, as in

ageable on in years, biddable obedient, fightable

eager to

IV. Pronunciations

fight.

-ation, as in botheration, darnation, jlinderation,

thunderation, twitteration.

tion, tarnation, -fy, -ify, -ified, ify,

murdera-

A number of pronunciation patterns exist that go against the rules of standard English

as in airified, argufy, fitified, happify, speech-

may

spelling but that nevertheless

weakified.

-ment, especially with extra stress

on the

ap-

suffix, as in

pearment, botherment, disgracement, fixment, foolishment, hustlement, needments, reasonment, revengement, studyment, worriment.

1

Final unstressed vowels: Most widespread are the varia-

tions in treating a final unstressed vowel,

[i],

[i]

or

[a],

in

disagreement with standard spelling. a.

-some, as in beautysome, bettersome, boresome, danger-

The endings of Cincinnati, Missouri, prairie are locally pronounced [a], and in pronunciation-spellings are

many other

some, hindersome, idlesome, pestersome, queersome,

spelled a: Cincinnata, Missoura, paraira. In

tellsome, youthsome.

words spelled with final this has not happened. Africa, Alabama, algebra, America, arnica, cholera, Martha, Ora, Sara, and dozens more a very common change during the nineteenth century end in /i/ or /i/, with pronunciation-spellings using y:Africky, Alabamy, algebry. The force of standard spelling has changed most

-(e)ty,

-dy, -y,

on

/',

adjective base: biggety, fadedy, fainty,

b.

— —

jaggedy, pleggity, raggedy, ramshacklety.

on verb

base: crinklety, crumplety, fixy, itchety, mincy,

rockety, wrinkledy.

on noun

base:

compushency, conceity,

ficety, filey, ro-

of these to standard pronunciations in /a/, but many have at the same time acquired an intrusive r, as Atlanter, bannanner, umbreller, etc.

guey, spasmy, spitey, strengthy. 2.

and

be strong regionally.

Prefixation: Folk use of prefixes

is less

that of suffixes, but the continued use of a-

distinctive than is

characteristic.

This prefix, a worn-down form of the preposition on, longer a free form in standard English, though

bound form

in such

common

ahead, ashore, asleep, and

no

it

survives as a

In folk speech

has been lost in this context in standard English; the

sense of on

is

expressed,

when

necessary, with on: folk a-pur-

pose, standard on purpose. 3. Back-formation: A new word is formed from an existing one by false derivation. Examples: the verb diagnose is actually back-formed from diagnosis, not the other way around, as one might think. Similarly, edit is back-formed from editor and burgle from burglar. All these are now fully accepted as standard. Some examples from folk speech: jink bad luck, taken as the singular of jinx; sull, taken as the infinitive of sullin (mistaken for sullen); mize to act stingily, from miser. '

4. Omission of suffix: The sometimes dropped, as in fly

suffix -er expressing

wallow.

it is

a-comin, a-goin, a-laughin, a-walkin. Apart from poetic surit

Words ending in ow very frequently reduce /o/ to /3/ and add an r: medda, medder meadow, metier mellow,

shadder shadow, shaller shallow, swoller swallow, waller

afoot,

common preceding participles, especially present participles: vivals,

c.

often

words as abed, about,

many more.

is

agency

2.

Recessive stress:

Words of Germanic

origin (as are the

majority of Old English words) normally bore stress on the first syllable.

Folk speech frequently applies the rule to non-

Germanic loanwords,

stressing the

first

syllable

when

stan-

dard pronunciation does not. The effect is to give primary stress to the first syllable, often with lengthening of the vowel,

and

to reduce the second-syllable stress to secondary stress.

Examples: advice, December, decide, defend, deliberate, disrupt, disturb, dope, encourage, enforce, idea, invest, invite, mistake, police, reduce, September, subtract. 3.

Unreduced suffixes: In the Middle English period the

-es

of noun plurals and of verb third-person singulars was pro-

nounced

as a separate syllable. In early

Modern

English the

majority lost this separateness and were assimilated directly is

bat, fly flap, fly spat, fly swat,

flycatch (the bird), salt-shake, fertilize (noun), drain colander, frogstick pocket knife. All the corresponding forms with -er are attested.

to the base: walkes, two-syllable

dreades became dreads.

noun or verb, became

Words ending

in

this change: buzzes, fishes, garages, passes.

s,

sh, z,

walks;

zh resisted

Many more words

of the older form have survived in folk speech after

-sp, -st,

or

-sk: beastes, claspes, deskes, frostes, ghostes, nestes, postes, 5.

Abbreviation or shortening: This has always been a

means of reducing

the length

and complexity of phrases or

tuskes, trustes, waspes, wristes.

A very similar reduction of the -(e)dof past-tense verbs took

Language Changes place at the

in

American Folk Speech

xl

same period, the separate syllable being lost.

A few

words failed to follow this pattern of change: standard are aged old, beloved, blessed. A few more survive in folk speech: streaked, striped, formed from verb plus participial -ed, and the s\m\\Mforked, peaked, formed from noun plus -Shaving,

Sound

substitutions:

turkle turtle, bickle victuals,

bunk (verb) bunt, clouk

(noun) clout, buck (verb) butt, ecksetra etcetera.

k

for p:

r for /

for

/:

r:

plunk (verb) plump, chonk (verb) chomp, champ.

jagger (verb) j aggie, kitarber catalpa.

dumbly crumbly.

The word catalpa has undergone an unusual number of such

characterized by. 4.

k for t:

Folk speakers

may

substitutions, with forty variant

substitute

sounds or sound clusters for others in general use. Like intrusive consonants, these are usually homorganic with the sounds they replace. Examples:

forms recorded, including

patalca (p for k, k for p); macaltha catalba (b for p); catalfa (/for p).

(m

for k,

k

for

t,

th for p)\

Guide to Pronunciation

by James W. Hartman

to the appropriate subheadings in section 3 for general de1.

Introduction

scriptive information

The treatment of pronunciation in DARE differs from that in standard dictionaries in several ways. First, pronunciation is not included in the heading for words that are widely used in

American English (AE) and have

little

or no variation in

pronunciation (such as slap), or that vary by well-known regular processes (for example, presence or absence of postvo-

At the other extreme, pronunciation

calic /r/, as in brier).

not included

when

there

is

no

is

oral evidence at all for the

pronunciation (as with cadulix),

when there is too

infor-

little

mation from which to generalize (as with cadarup), or when DARE quotations are solely from written sources that give no indication of pronunciation even though the word is obviously well

known

in a region (as

is

The

caballero).

last

case

seeming inconsistency, since words such as the Spanish loans caballada and caballero are treated quite differresults in

however, the principle of providing pronunciations

ently;

only from oral evidence or phonetic transcriptions has been

adhered to despite the resulting variability in treatment. A second way in which DARE's treatment differs from that pronunciation

in other dictionaries is that

any of several ways:

it

may

may be indicated in

be given in the heading immediit may be provided in one or may be suggested by inclusion of

ately following the part of speech;

more of the quotations;

it

pronunciation-spellings; or natives

may

some combination of these

be used. As to accuracy,

DARE

is

alter-

responsible

only for transcriptions in the headings. Third,

DARE's

use of symbols to indicate pronunciation

depending on whether a generalization (a "broad" "narrow" transcrip-

varies

transcription) or a precise rendering (a tion)

called for (see further below).

is

Guide

The purposes of

this

to Pronunciation are to give the reader information

that will suggest the likely or possible regional pronunciation

of words for which transcriptions are not given in to provide a basic outline of the kinds

tion that occur in

AE

DARE, and

and patterns of varia-

gives the reader basic information about the

symbols used to

indicate pronunciation. Section 2 presents a brief overview of

the nature of regional

AE,

its

and

social

pronunciation variation in

development, and some present-day influSection 3, the DARE Pronunciation Key, has

historical

ences on

it.

AE has been described, abstractly, as having a set of distincsound units (phonemes), a reservoir that is drawn upon and assigned a reality (articulation) and a sequence to produce the pronunciation of a word or string of words. AE speakers can distinguish bit from pit because, although b and p are similar in articulation, there are differences between them that native speakers hear as being fundamental or distinctive. But not all sound differences are distinctive. For example, the final t on bit and pit may be articulated with or without a strong puff of air (aspiration), but AE speakers treat either of these as being fundamentally the same sound, a t.

The English

what is For example, b and p are distinct not only in function to distinguish words but also in the alphabet, whereas the two kinds off are distinct in neither. But traditional spelling cannot be relied on to represent distinctive distinctive

The

basic symbols used in

diagonal slashes,

rizes the

tended to be used as a reference.

among American

DARE

are

word.

Ae/

3. Ill

most part from the

linguists. The shown below, between each one accompanied by an illustrative

bols that are in regular use

DARE entries refer the reader

and

letters

International Phonetic Alphabet, along with a few other sym-

hi hi

units;

thy.

of the alphabet are not used, because their sounds are adequately represented by other letters.) The

sound

describes the most important

sound

and

same time, a few

most notable regional patterns of pronunciation and provides maps to illustrate some of them. Section 3 is in-

3. II

not.

example, covers two distinct units, as in Although these two words otherwise sound alike, they are kept separate by two distinct sounds, both represented by th in conventional spelling. On the other hand, for many AE speakers words like cot and caught sound the same, even though the spelling differs. Likewise, for some. god and guard sound alike. Therefore traditional orthography cannot be relied upon to represent the many phonetic variations that occur in AE. In order to indicate pronunciation unambiguously in writing, it is necessary to have a system with a one-to-one correspondence between written symbols and speech sounds. Because there are more speech sounds than there are letters in the alphabet, certain additional symbols must be used. (At the

N N

same word;

is

th spelling, for

thigh

summa-

units in the

variations heard in each of the

spelling system goes far in identifying

and what

differences, or not to represent nondistinctive differences.

I

three major divisions: 3.1 describes the use of different

in pronuncia-

tive

additional symbols are taken for the

pronunciation in general.

The Guide to Pronunciation has three major parts: Section 1

on geographical variants

tion.

Vowels beat

hi

boat

bit

hi

caz^ght

bail

hi

father

bet bat

hi hi

bird, father

above

Guide

to Pronunciation

xlii

/u/

boot

/ai/

bite

.

/u/

book

/au/

bout

v

/oi/

boy

.

Consonants

II

= voiceless = voiced (beneath a symbol) = labialized (beneath a consonant) = dentalized (beneath /a/) = unsyllabic (beneath a consonant) = syllabic (beneath a vowel) = retroflex (beneath a symbol)

(beneath a symbol)

.

.

Ivl /b/

pop bob

M

valve

/s/

sass

/t/

tot

/z/

zeroes

Id/

did

HI

ship,

Ik/

kick

IV

measure

in quotations, especially those

/g/

gag

lc/

church

guistic Atlas

/m/

mom

1)1

judge

/n/

none

/n/

sing, i«k

M

hot

transcribe utterances as precisely as possible; they also occur in quotations, in cases where fieldworkers felt that

web

minute

/0/

Nimble, ether them, either

/6/

N

In the dictionary entries, narrow transcriptions

wish

M

run

111

far (in

occur

DARE

was

For the sake of uniform presentawhether narrow or broad, are enclosed within brackets. Quotations from

Mess

detail

however,

tion,

yes

III

of New

may

from such sources as the LinEngland, where great care was taken to

all

useful.

of the

DARE transcriptions,

areas)

written sources of course follow the practice of the author with

little IV Although the illustrative words used above were chosen to indicate the correspondence between the symbols and speech

respect to brackets or diagonal slashes. For sources written before transcription practices had been standardized (such as

If/

Jfr

sounds, because of regional differences in pronunciation not

volumes of Dialect Notes), the editors have regularized the transcriptions. Pronunciations given in the headings of early

everyone will pronounce these words in exactly the same manner. To this extent, the indication of the speech sound associated with each symbol is necessarily somewhat imprecise. For example, many people in the North and South

entries are generalizations based primarily

pronounce cot and caught so that they sound different; that is, they distinguish between the vowels /a/ and /o/. In the West, however, cot and caught are often pronounced so that they sound the same; that is, many speakers do not distinguish between /a/ and /d/, lacking the vowel /o/ entirely. But, on the whole, the illustrative words are pronounced similarly by

detailed

speakers throughout the country.

analyzed with the goal of actually setting up phonemic systems, the symbols, as used here, are to be taken as indicators

The symbols shown above are used in two basic ways: simply to indicate particular sounds; or to show more detail about the way those sounds were produced. For example, the pronunciation of the word pep can be represented by the

symbols /pep/;

it

can also be represented by the

set

set [p'e

v

of -

p

].

on evidence in the quotations. Because the evidence includes both narrow and broad transcriptions, the symbols in the headings are enclosed in vertical strokes to signal a middle ground between the

and the general. Although DARE's use of diagonal slashes and brackets is similar to that favored by linguists to represent phonemic and subphonemic levels, it should not be viewed as representing a unified phonemic-phonetic system for all of AE, or even for one region within the whole. Because the data were not

of the speech sounds themselves, without reference to their place in an overall system.

The details of variation in AE pronunciation are highly complex. The amount of data needed to establish patterns in

The first transcription shows the three distinctive sounds used

individuals, social groups, regions,

in saying the word;

and

it

is

enclosed in diagonal slashes that

indicate a "broad" or general rendering.

The second

tran-

shows that the first sound was articulated with a puff of air, the vowel was pronounced with the tongue in a slightly lower position than usual, and the last sound was unreleased (that is, the lips did not open immediately after coming together); this "narrow" or more detailed set is enclosed in square brackets. The set of modifying signs used to indicate such details of articulation is shown below. (Additional symbols and combinations used to indicate variants of the basic symbols are discussed in scription not only gives the three basic sounds but also

section

linguistic context

and circumstances of style enormous. Constant change, more-

over, rapidly or slowly erodes the applicability of data col-

any given time.

lected at

And

there are local, even neighbor-

pronunciations that are yet unrecorded. The pronunciation features discussed here should not be unduly generalized they are, of necessity, taken from individual

hood,

—

speakers at a particular time. Nevertheless, patterns of pro-

nunciation do tend to be stable, as evidenced by the fact that speakers still exhibit the same regional features

many young

described in studies done nearly three generations ago.

Variation

document

3.II.)

is

is

implicit in the use of any spoken language.

this variation is to reveal historical

and

To

social ties

that run deep in the culture of the groups involved; to share

(over a symbol) =

-

(through the middle of a symbol) center of the

:




* v '

"

nasalized

=

articulated toward the

mouth

= length (following a symbol) = forward in the mouth (following a symbol) = back in the mouth (following a symbol) = higher in the mouth (following a symbol) = lower in the mouth (following a symbol) = aspirated (following a symbol) = unreleased (following a symbol)

forms of language is to share values. The more broadly pronunciation data are viewed, the more consistency and

Beyond the

"knowing and regional differences of AE have a larger significance. The American past, linguistic and cultural, is embedded in contemporary variation. And not only do users of the forms attach social meaning to them, but nonusers often make judgments positive or stability are seen.

what

is

there for

negative

some

its

own

intrinsic interest of

sake," the social

— — about them. Some features are considered quaint,

colorful,

some

ignorant,

some

cultivated,

some

irritat-

— Guide

xliii

These attitudes can be very strong and judgments about the speakers. The native who claims "we don't have any accents around here" reveals the tenacity of our perceptions of "us" and "them." In truth, of course, every speaker is from somewhere, regionally, educationally, and emotionally, and it is impossible not to reveal through pronunciation some part of that backing,

some

up here any longer." So they sent out scouts to search for a new home. A little later on that evening the scouts came back and said they had found an old-fashioned horse-barn where there would be room and board for all of them.

pleasing.

often subtly affect our

ground.

It is

variation

complex

useful to

and

that

historical

remember that AE is the sum

all its

and

total

The

leader gave the order at once.

and the rats crawled out of their holes on the floor in a long line.

of its

"Company right

fall

developments.

was the name of the

shirker.

He

wasn't in the

— he stood

in!"

away and stood

Just then the old rat caught sight of young Arthur

varieties are the current results of

linguistic

to Pronunciation

line,

— that and he

The information presented below is derived from many sources: studies of American speech that deal with small

wasn't exactly outside

neighborhoods as well as large regions; with single features as well as entire systems; with social class, race, educational and generational differences; with theories of change and histories

course you're coming too?"

of development. In addition, the sources include a unique

more, do you?" "I'm not certain," said Arthur undaunted. "The roof may not fall down yet." "Well," said the old rat, "we can't wait for you to join us." Then he turned to the others and shouted, "Right about face! March!" and the long line marched out of the barn while the young rat watched them. "I think I'll go tomorrow," he said to himself, "but then again, perhaps I won't it's so nice and snug here. I guess I'll go back to my hole under the log for a while just to make up my mind." But during the night there was a big crash. Down came the whole business. beams, rafters, joists some men came to it was a foggy day Next morning look over the damage. It seemed odd that the old building was not haunted by rats. But at last one of them happened to move a board, and he caught sight of a young rat, quite dead, half in and half out of his hole.

"Come on, "I don't

"Why,

body of pronunciation data, the DARE audiotapes, a collection of 1 843 field recordings of the DARE informants. These tapes average approximately one half-hour each. Each tape has two major sections: a reading of a set passage, "Arthur the Rat," in which each word is chosen to indicate known variations in pronunciation; and a period of free conversation in which the informant is encouraged to speak casually on familiar topics.

The

passage

set

From

the total

nationwide sampling representing the geographical and social

grouping of the informants was taken for analysis. These tapes

ple,

stress),

the consequences of intonation (for exam-

vowel length), and

as palatalization

and

many narrow phonetic qualities (such

lip

rounding) were excluded as being too

technical for a general treatment.

version of "Arthur the Rat"

is

The

text of the

DARE

or no either. He'd always shirk

for

here!

You

making

a choice.

day his aunt Josephine said to him, "Now look No one will ever care for you if you carry on like this. have no more mind of your own than a greasy old

One

fine

blade of grass!"

The young

rat

coughed and looked

wise, as usual, but

said nothing.

"Don't you think so?" said foot, for she couldn't

his aunt,

stamping with her

bear to see the young rat so cold-

blooded.

One

know," was

all

was a very dreary old place. The roof let the rain come washing in, the beams and rafters had all rotted through, so that the whole thing was quite unsafe. At last one of the joists gave way, and the beams fell with one edge on the floor. The walls shook, the cupola fell off, and all the rats' hair stood on end with fear and horror. "This won't do," said their leader. "We can't stay cooped night the rats heard a loud noise in the

loft. It

it.

"Of

said Arthur calmly. it!

You

don't think

it's

safe here

any

2.

—

—

shirker got his due.

and there was no mourning

him.

Pronunciation Variation in American English

American folklore includes observations about a southern drawl, a Yankee whine, a midwestern twang, and other labels for perceived regional differences in speech. For these differences various fanciful explanations are offered: southerners

sometimes drop their r's because the humid climate produces such widespread sinus problems that the articulation of that sound is hindered. Popular attitudes toward social and regional versions of AE tend to be stereotyped. A certain kind of Boston speech is perceived as "classy," whereas the speech of

talk slowly because of the heat; Philadelphians

other regions provokes laughter or disapproval. this folklore

he ever answered, and then he'd walk off to think for an hour or more, whether he would stay in his hole in the ground or go out into the loft. "I don't

know,"

the idea of

Thus the

as follows:

Once upon a time there was a young rat who couldn't make up his mind. Whenever the other rats asked him if he would like to come out hunting with them, he would answer in a hoarse voice, "I don't know." And when they said, "Would you rather stay inside?" he wouldn't say yes,

by

get in line!" growled the old rat coarsely.

—

were transcribed phonetically, charted, and plotted on maps to provide much of the basic data presented here. Intonation data (pitch,

just

—

more formal speech more number of field recordings a elicits

("reading style"), while the free conversation samples

informal speech.

it

drawl?

corresponds

southern

A midwestern twang? As with other matters of folk or

popular knowledge there

How much of

to fact? Is there really a

is

some

truth

— medical

and some

treatments, for example

fiction in

typing. For example, contrary to the

such regional stereo-

common belief, southern

not necessarily slower than that found elsewhere. The use of a rising pitch by some southern speakers where others would use level or falling pitches (making a southern speech

is

statement sound like a question to outsiders) draws attention. Likewise, the lengthening of vowels at given places in sentences contributes to an impression of slowness.

The amount

of silence allowed in various types of discourse

may

also be

Guide

to Pronunciation

greater for tic is

xliv

some southern

speakers. But the latter characteris-

not unique to the South, nor do

pauses to the same degree. Although

do have

standard social norms and solidify their identification with

Although this term is popularly applied to speech heard as odd or "nonstandard," most scholars use it to refer to any defined variety of speech, social or regional. From of view, every speaker has a dialect, one that reflects

and regional

characteristics.

Standard English. Difficult to define, this term usually refers to the forms of English found in edited writing. Pronunciation,

however,

is

much less subject to a recognized norm in

American speech. It is normal for standard speakers in Atlanta to differ from their counterparts in Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Boston, and so on. Broadcast (American) English as heard from professional announcers on radio and television has been developing as an informal norm, but it is far from having the force that Received Pronunciation has had in England. In other words, the United States tends to have regional standards of pronunciation. General American. This much used and abused term most frequently refers to the speech of the western half of the country (excluding Texas and, perhaps, Oklahoma) and most of the territory east of the Mississippi that is north of the Ohio River (excluding the East Coast).

speakers knowingly use

clear that different

is

social

many

it is

characteristic

Dialect.

this point

evidence that

nonprestigious forms in order to separate themselves from

introduction will aid in the understanding of details. that

is

southerners utilize

mannerisms of speech, which include the characteristics just mentioned and also such things as use of vocal qualifiers (nasality, aspiration, "rough" or "smooth" use of vocal cords), articulation habits, and so on, adequate documentation of the differences is lacking. Many other aspects of social and regional variation of AE have been documented, however, as will be detailed later in this section. But first, there are some general matters whose regions

In fact, there

all

Of course

there are differ-

subgroups. Indeed,

pronunciation, to

all fit

speakers adjust their speech, including the situation and the audience. These

shifts are often so natural that

they go unnoticed unless a

speaker uses inappropriate forms. Not affected

by

social class or situation; only

all

pronunciation

is

some features, which

have become markers within a given region, will vary across groups and social contexts. Social forces are constantly shaping the direction and nature of American English pronunciation. Some are national in scope, others regional or local. The degree to which these forces are balanced governs the degree to which speech is homogeneous. It is commonly argued that as such pervasive institutions as education and the media become more national, and as more people travel or change their place of residence, regional and local features of speech are weakened. This contention has some support. For example in the "Mess" areas of the country (where r's after vowels are not strongly articulated) some younger speakers have more postvocalic /r/ articulation than their counterparts had a generation ago. Contacts among speakers from diverse areas in large regional universities may be encouraging such standardizing trends. Reservoirs of regional and local speech exist in most communities, however, and, with the possible exception of folk pronunciation of individual words, they are likely to remain indefinitely. Furthermore, various appeals to regional, local, ethnic, and other kinds of pride may lead to resurgence and growth of variation. Even though pronunciation possibilities are limited and guided by biological and linguistic forces, degrees of homogenization and variation are also reflections of cultural developments. social

ences in pronunciation within this large area, but they are often less striking than those of the South or the East. There

some evidence that younger,

is

college-educated speakers in the

South and East are adopting some features from the General American area. And, in fact, this term occasionally is used to refer to educated speech across the country. To avoid possible misunderstanding, the term "General American" will not be used in the following discussion.

Urban vs. Rural. In pronunciation, as in other characterisof AE, urban areas differ from their surrounding rural areas. Generally speaking, the larger and older cities of the eastern half of the United States are more differentiated than

tics

those of the western half, but even in the latter differences exist

and seem

to be increasing. Smaller,

younger

cities are

more likely to represent an amalgam of features to be found in whereas older, larger cities may contain pronunciation characteristics that are relatively rare in the

their rural environs,

surrounding

territory.

Social Factors. Social pressures to adopt one form of pro-

its complex patterns of variation, AE pronunciaremarkably homogeneous over an area of approximately 3 million square miles containing more than 200 million speakers from diverse language backgrounds. Indeed, few sharp regional or social distinctions mark variant pronun-

Despite

tion

is

ciations;

unique to an area or

misunderstood.

be "good"

is

What the

culture in general holds to

not necessarily what the individual will choose.

for bird

and

third

social group. Rather, a group's

unique

combinations of pronunciation features that best reveal the unique character of any given area or social group. In fact, this sharing of individual characteristics extends beyond the boundaries of the United States. Many of the variant pronun-

in the

easily

and "toid"

pronunciation can usually be defined only by a set of features, any single feature in the set being shared with one or more other areas that may or may not be contiguous with it. It is the

home to that of their peers. As their world expands they encounter new varieties of English from which they may

is

and overlapping

notwithstanding, very few pronunciation characteristics are

ciations

choose features. Their choices are based on such influences as frequency of occurrence and their attitudes toward other speakers. The latter influence, sometimes termed "prestige,"

often, gradient transitions

features as Brooklyn's "boid"

nunciation or another are real and pervasive. American children very early begin modifying their speech away from that

of the

more

mixtures characterize what are commonly referred to as the dialects or "accents" of AE. Popular stereotyping of such

English as well,

may

be found in British although the proportional number of speakers

found in the United States

two countries who use a certain pronunciation may may the social status of any given feature. Moreover, the combination of features for any individual speaker of British English will differ from those of any

differ dramatically, as

given American. In spite of the high degree of homogeneity of AE, it is clear even to the casual observer that distinctive differences, geo-

Guide

xlv

and social, do exist. Not surprisingly, the earlier-settled East Coast and South have more distinct regional and social differences than do the more recently settled Midwest, Southwest, and Pacific Coast. (We use these regional terms about language with only general boundaries in mind; language differences have little or nothing to do with state graphical

boundaries or administrative divisions.) Urban areas, in particular, are internally

quite

from the surrounding rural

complex and are often distinct areas, even in the West where

is generally more uniform. Though the members of a group of speakers may sound much the same to an outsider, no area, large or small, achieves

speech

complete uniformity of pronunciation: there are likely to be subareal differences (neighborhoods, suburbs, communities)

mash

to Pronunciation

and wash and Washington are [wois], [woisintan]. But many speakers do not have this process for all possible words in a rhyming set; some will say [meza^] or are

[spesal],

[aeis],

[masis];

example, but lack similar variants for other

for

words. In brief, a phonological process may start with one word for one group (or one individual). It may then spread to other similar words and to other members of the speech community, but the growth of both kinds may be uneven in generalization or in rapidity. Furthermore,

— becomes stigmatized — counters resistance

be as uneven as

its

for it

spread.

example,

if

new made

the

if it is

variant en-

fun of and

may recede, and this shrinking may The

first

utterance of the

new form

class (as seen in education,

be treated as a peculiarity (good or bad) or may go it will be treated as a variant until it has spread to all (or almost all) members of the word set and throughout the population. (Those words to which it fails to spread become

nity type),

relics.)

and

social differences as well.

The social groupings most likely

to be reflected in pronunciation differences are age, sex, social

income, occupation, and commuand ethnic background. Even informal social groupings, however, may be marked by identifiable differences in pronunciation, many of them so subtle that group members themselves may not be aware of them. Pronunciation becomes even more complex when individual variation is

taken into account. Speakers

the situation and the audience.

may shift pronunciation to fit They may change some pro-

nunciations as they grow older and

come

into contact with

other varieties of the language. In brief, regional, social,

and

individual variation in pronunciation

it is

the norm. Moreover,

all

is

not exceptional:

of these factors change through time.

may

unnoticed;

Although the types of phonological processes are many and complex, most variations noted in DARE can be accounted for by loss, addition, modification, and change. Loss of a sound (or syllable) may occur in any part of a word and may affect sets of words, clearly revealing a pattern, or perhaps only a single word. One of the outstanding examples of patterned loss is that of postvocalic /r/. In some areas of the United States the r after a vowel in the spelling of many words is not pronounced. Thus farm may be [form], rare [re:3], cord [ky.d]. Another patterned loss occurs when consonant clus-

The reader would do well to keep this complexity in mind when consulting the information on pronunciation given later in this discussion and in the dictionary entries.

ters are reduced,

Nearly all present-day phonological variations are products of historical processes, recent or past. Many are the result of a

begin with

—

a process sound being influenced by neighboring sounds called assimilation, in which one sound becomes more like another. When such a process has affected one word, the change may then spread to rhymes or near rhymes of that word. This spread may occur rapidly or slowly, sometimes taking generations. Moreover, a process that begins in one

may spread to other groups. The total may not be the same and may vary over time.

regional or social group set

of words involved in the process

among

all

groups

In wash, for example, the /s/ has influenced the

preceding

it

are articulated by

some

speakers.

way sounds

One result is an

an r sound that intervenes between the vowel and the /s/. Thus, many AE speakers pronounce wash as [wars]. Many of these also say [warsirj] washing and [worst] washed. But these speakers may or may not pronounce Washington as [warsirjtan]: not all those who say [wars] also have the intrusive sound in all similar words. The same sound intrusive /r/, that

is,

pattern, a vowel plus intrusive /r/ before /s/, occurs in other

words, such as

mush [m^s], mushroom [m^srum], and brush

[br^s], but the

vowel that

is

most

likely to invite intrusive /r/

most often

finally in a

word but also

and medially. Some speakers thus may have [wil] for wheel, [wapa*-] for

initially

[wel] for whale,

whopper, while others begin those

words with /hw/. Similarly, huge, humor, and Hubert can /j/ rather than /hj/. Some examples of nonpat-

terned loss are

[laiberi] for library,

['gAvmant] for government,

['kUmbas] for Columbus. For additional examples see sections 3.1.19, 3.1.22,

and

3.II.26.

Addition of a sound can be illustrated by the intrusive

/r/ in

wash [wars] and idea [ai'dia^], the /a/ in athlete f'aeGalit] and elm ['dam], and the /t/ in across [akrast] and once [wAnst]. For further detail, see section 3.1.23. Modification results in what native speakers would perceive as variants of the "same" sound. Modification is very common in AE and provides much of the subtle variation to be heard from one region to another. In some areas, postvocalic /r/, rather than being either lost or fully articulated, has an intermediate nature, producing what others hear as a "weak r." Similarly, some speakers have a velar (strongly backed) postvocalic

sound but

/l/

that

is

heard not as a completely different

as a different version of/.

are detailed in section

Change or

These kinds of variation

3. II.

alternation involves the use of

one

distinctive

unit rather than another in a word or set of words. For example, the vowels in fish [fis] and bush [bus], compared with the more usual [fis] and [bus], show the use of different

is /a/.

sound units

Another example of uneven distribution of phonological processes across regional and social groups is the influence of /s/ and the similar /z/. Some speakers have only tense or diphthongized vowels before /s/ or /z/:fish and dish are [fis], [dis]; bush and push are [bu§], [pus]; measure and special are [mez^], [spesal]; rush and mush are [rAis], [mAis]; ash and

or social groups. This kind of variation section

in those

different regions is

examined

in

3.1.

To summarize: is

words by speakers of

phonological variation in the United States

usually the result of sound changes that have spread irregu-

larly

through the population, being limited to given regions or groups and affecting different word sets. The changes

social

Guide

to Pronunciation

xlvi

have numerous causes, including the influence of neighboring sounds. Of the four types of processes discussed, three (loss, addition, change) work across the sound units of the

cant changes that were later to appear in Standard

London

way among some

speakers

language, while the fourth (modification) involves slightly

phonological environments

different articulation of a given

sound

unit.

The number and

kinds of words affected by these processes patterned variation or more limited variation.

Some

AE

general

comments about

may produce

1

,

bear restatement.

The number of actual sounds produced by speakers of AE

is

incalculable, for pronunciation varies with each articulation of every individual. Some abstraction is necessary to deal with this very prolific reality.

For the purpose of discussing phonoproduced no com-

logical variation, linguistic scholarship has

pletely satisfactory system of analysis.

here sees

nemes;

AE

The scheme presented

as having altogether forty

sound units or pho-

the phonetic elements (articulated sounds) that are

all

taken to be variants of the "same sound" by native speakers (and that meet certain formal criteria) are considered to be a single sound unit and are represented by a single symbol. (These symbols are enclosed in diagonal slashes.) For example, in bite the vowel is represented by /ai/, but the phonetic

elements that

AE

speakers actually produce (for which /ai/

stands) can be represented (in square brackets) by [01], [a:],

and

others.

It is

at this

[ai], [ai],

phonetic level that

much

AE takes place, with two exceptions. First, there is one phoneme, /d/, that not all AE speakers have, and second, variation in

some processes produce differences of sound-unit occurrence words or word-sets. That

For example,

in England.

sound units differ in

loss

of postvocalic

/r/ in certain

evidenced as early as the sixteenth century in areas within and around London (the source of much early migration to North America). Rural migrants brought

systematic approaches to

pronunciation, discussed in section

English were probably well under

where

it

it

is

into the speech of lower-class

rose socially,

became

part of Standard

London,

London En-

then spread outward again.

It was probably indigenous North American speakers but was later brought more forcefully into AE through those regions which had kept continuous cultural contact with London English. There is reason to believe that other features that later became standard pronunciations in London English were

glish,

to colonial

present in the speech of the lower classes.

The seventeenth-

and eighteenth-century change in which some words with /u/ (such as must) became pronounced with /a/ must have begun much earlier, for it is nearly universal in AE, whereas in England some northern dialects retain the older form even today. Likewise most AE speakers have an unround vowel, for example [a] or [a], in "short o" words like hot and stock where most English speakers have a round vowel, [o]. The common AE form, however, does exist in British English, and there

is

written evidence for

its

occurrence in Britain as early

it must have been brought North America during early settlement to have spread so thoroughly in AE; at the same time, it became ridiculed as a foppish pronunciation in England and failed to gain general

as the seventeenth century. Again, to

phonetic manifestations from region to region and group to

acceptance there. Similarly, the voiced (or flapped) medial t heard as /d/ in words like butter, latter, metal, which has

No attempt is made in

become nearly universal in colloquial AE, has remained quite

in given

is,

group and

in their incidence in words.

DARE to

present

cause of the interest

their

all possible or known variants; some, benumber of words or speakers affected, are of more

than others. Judicious selection rather than exhaus-

restricted

regionally

in

British English, rather than /ae/, in

tive listing is the practice followed here.

Other

England.

words

attained widespread usage only in eastern

much more

History

It is

Much

variation in contemporary

AE

pronunciation

is lin-

change working through social and regional variation. is complicated by the fact that AE is, historically, a displaced language. That is, regional and social variations existing in British English were uprooted and mixed in various ways with one another and with other languages in a new context, producing American English. Some pronunciations that were quite limited either socially or regionally in British English became widespread in AE; others remained limited in North America as in Great Britain; still others died out. And, of course, North American innovations have occurred during the three hundred and fifty years since English was brought to the New World. Many, if not most, of the variations found in the United States may also be found in Great Britain; the outstanding difference between British English and AE pronunciation is the mixture of features to be found in any one place and in any one speaker. The English that was brought to North America in the early guistic

This situation

pronunciation

changes that took place in England were imported into America with more limited usage. The "broad a," /a/, of standard

limited

and sporadic use

not impossible that

American and

like

bath and can %

New England, with

farther south.

some of these

by That

features shared

British English are of independent origin.

as a result of contact with other languages or for purely phonetic reasons, features parallel with those of British Enis,

may have appeared independently in AE. Until more is known about language development, however, it is probably

glish

best to

assume the simplest hypothesis

for the shared feature:

importation.

AE

pronunciation began in the seventeenth century as a mixture of contemporary British English forms, but not all

The early colocame mainly from southeastern England; settlers from other sections came in greater numbers later in the seventeenth century and early in the eighteenth. Nor were all social varieties of British English equally represented. The bulk of the colonial settlers were the more ambitious, dissatisfied, or unlucky members of the lower and middle classes. Thus the composition of the American population favored some soregional varieties were equally represented. nists

cial

and regional speech

varieties over others. This helped to

AE, compared to the complexof variation in British English, which remains to the present. The first two or three generations of North Ameri-

seventeenth century was in the latter stages of a period that

bring about a simplification in

had already seen great changes in pronunciation. The tense ("long") vowels had all raised their points of articulation, a process that simplified the vowel system by eliminating several distinctive sound contrasts but also produced two wide diphthongs, /ai/ and /au/. Furthermore, most of the signifi-

ity

cans probably further reduced variation by permitting some of the less usual forms to lapse. At the same time, some ongoing changes in standard British English were paralleled

Guide

xlvii

by those in AE. For example, the diphthongs in words like nice and now, which were probably [ai] and [au] at the time of settlement,

moved

(for

many

speakers) to their present

[ai]

Coast and in forms in such words as nice and Canada British English speakers northern about.) The influence of became significant, especially in the South Midland area of the colonies, with the eighteenth-century immigration of the Ulster Scots, who brought many of the same pronunciations

and

[au].

(Some speakers

in parts of the East

retain these earlier

with them.

The eighteenth century was a period of language scrutiny both in England and in the New World. Regularization and formalization according to standards of correctness dictated by logic, Latin structure, and educated usage began to shape popular attitudes toward language. At the same time, the middle class was expanding and efforts toward public education were under way. Late in the century came attempts in the new United States to Americanize the language especially through the efforts of Noah Webster with his speller and dictionary (1806). Educated use of English, American style, took root. By the late eighteenth century regional distinctions as well as an "American" accent were noticeable. Though the growing regional centers (Boston, New York, Philadelphia,

—

Richmond, Charleston) had developed

their

own local differ-

ences reflecting their unique histories, they were

still

Ameri-

speakers, Chinese Irish

to Pronunciation

and Japanese, and Protestant and Catholic

poured into already

settled areas as well as the

newly

developing agricultural areas. Again the question arises

whether identical features in widely separated areas are of independent and coincidental origins or come from a common source. Such cities as Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, for example, have numerous speakers who use /t/ and /d/ for /9/ and 161, a common substitution in foreign-accented English. Outside the South, however, these forms are not common in nonurban areas, even those heavily settled by non-English speakers. It is possible that density of population and particular

economic and language

situations leading to differing

patterns of assimilation produced the difference. Other variants

such as

[bn'gaibnd] for

in

[rjg]

common

the

Long Island

or

[e]

local

pronunciation

rather than

[ae]

in such

words as that and ask in New York City have been attributed

European Jews. Yet the same found elsewhere in both AE and British English. Some variations of AE pronunciations do, however, seem

to the influence of Eastern features are

be results of non-English settlement. In Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, for example, the tense vowels

likely to

for

many

much

speakers have

elsewhere, so that /e/

is [e]

less

diphthongization than

rather than

[ei],

thus closer to

its

pronunciation by German, Norwegian, and Swedish speakers

As an educated standard emerged, some peculiarities of pronunciation were probably excluded from the speech of the

who

educated, but regional variations of the standard were toler-

heavily settled by

ated (as they are today).

ences in the Cajun area of Louisiana, in the Pennsylvania

The American language was also influenced by the great numbers of speakers of other languages with whom the English settlers came into early contact. American Indian, Dutch, Swedish, French, and African languages, among others, were part of the colonial linguistic milieu. The influence of these languages on the lexicon and syntax of regional

German

can.

and standard

AE

has not been adequately documented.

Equally problematic ciation.

non-English influence on

is

Evidence for any early influence

is

AE pronun-

ambiguous at best,

most of the possibly influential forms also occur in British English. Whether such features as /t/ and /d/ for /0/ and /&/ in parts (both north and south) of the East Coast, or lack of postvocalic /r/, are independently derived is open to since

settled the area in great

numbers. The same lack of

diphthongization exists in parts of eastern Pennsylvania, also

German

speakers. There are other influ-

Georgia -South Carolina islands and Low rural, where non-English features are still noticeable. In general, however, enough of the evidence for possible non-English influence on majority AE pronunciation is coincidental and ambiguous that prudence dictates withholding judgment on its effect for area, the

Country, and other communities, urban and

the present.

The nineteenth-century westward movement of Englishnew immigrants established the

speaking Americans and

basic geographical patterning of phonological variation that to a large extent continues today (although developments

since

World War

I

have begun to modify

it).

Except in the

South, most of the westward migration began in inland areas,

influence of African speakers, especially in the

with successive overlapping waves starting from ever more

numbers were high, controversial. Creole English, derived from African and Caribbean languages, was certainly present. How long it lasted and the degree of influence it has had (even on present generations of Blacks) is also open to question. Creole English lacks postvocalic /r/ as well as /9/ and /5/; it also lacks /as/ and the contrast between /a/ and /o/. Neither of the last two

westerly points of departure. Settlers had a tendency to seek

question.

The

South where their

characteristics

is

relative

much

is

particularly

evidenced in the current pronuncia-

White southerners, whereas the first two are (as also in British English and elsewhere in AE). However, various British English dialects not only have /ae/ and a contrast between /a/ and /o/ but also have speakers who lack postvocalic /r/ and substitute other sounds for /8/ and /6/. Thus, no final judgment about non-English influences on early seventeenth- and eighteenth-century AE pronunciation

tion of Black or

can be made

at present.

The question of non-English influence is even more troufor the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Large numbers of Germanic, Slavic, and Romance-language

blesome

out living conditions similar to those they settlers state,

from western

New

left

behind. Thus

England moved into

New York

northern Pennsylvania, northern Ohio, Indiana,

Illi-

Michigan, Wisconsin, and, more thinly, westward to the Pacific Coast. Those who left northern Maryland, Delaware, and eastern Pennsylvania moved across central Pennsylvania nois,

into central Ohio, Illinois, Indiana,

and parts of Nebraska,

Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Southern plantation culture

moved

across the rich Gulf Plains area into

eastern Texas. But once these

westward (about the 98th

movements reached far enough

parallel of longitude) their character

changed. The lack of navigable rivers in the West

made

overland travel necessary; moreover, rainfall could not be

counted upon to sustain traditional crops. Thus many settlers either doubled back or leaped to the Pacific Coast. During the mid-nineteenth century, foreign settlements, supplemented by a burgeoning cattle industry moving from northern Texas into the high Plains region, led to a more

Guide

to Pronunciation

xlviii

thorough mixing of settlement, and consequently of speech patterns, through the Rocky Mountains and the length of the Pacific Coast. The penetration of eastern regional pronunciations into the interior, where they came in contact with other varieties as well as with immigrant and American Indian speech, was one of the most important occurrences in the development of AE and its regional patterning. During this period regional consciousness reached a peak from which it is still descending. Inland urban centers with socially complex speech patterns were being formed, a trend greatly accelerated toward the end of the nineteenth century and on into the

the regional patterns established during the nineteenth cen-

twentieth.

time, also affect one another, with the result that two widely

Another influence affecting pronunciation was that of the schoolmarm and the schoolmaster. Public education for an ever-growing portion of the population was increasing in importance. Along with it came a heightened desire for "cor-

separated cities can be

rectness" in language usage. Regional standards of pronunci-

travel, is also

ation were

still

tolerated, but increasing attention

was being

paid to "better speech," especially in school activities like

Many

tury.

and White, have moved to coming in sufficient numbers to prevent assimilation. The Detroit area, for example,

southerners, Black

large northern cities,

ready linguistic

though a northern

with a majority of northern speakers,

city

many speakers with southern pronunciations. Meanmany northerners have moved to places like Florida

also has

while

and Arizona, altering the historically expectable patterns The development of huge urban centers with their rings of suburbs peopled by a highly mobile, socially selected popu-

there.

lation also

is

modifying older patterns. These urban areas, in

artificial

more

like

one another than

And finally,

closer rural neighbors.

like their

a familiarity with both the

standard of national radio and television and the

speech of other regions, through the media and through

having an influence.

In brief, the process that began with ilating

London English assim-

many British English regional variations, turning them

reading and spelling aloud, and this brought about spelling-

into urban, socially restricted patterns,

pronunciations that in some cases reversed historical trends.

part of the standard pronunciation, has been repeated (short

endings had been pronounced, in standard as

of producing a "national standard") in American cities. Moreover, through public education, great mobility, and

Earlier, the -ing

well as nonstandard speech, -n (as in Shakespeare's

normal

usage). Except in parts of the South, the -ing pronunciation

was reinstated as,

at least, the

forehea d regained a

formal pronunciation. Similarly

During the same period the United one regional pronunciation become the standard for the country (as has happened in England). The influence of Boston, which enjoyed a cultural flowering in the mid-nineteenth century and which had long been the seat of the highest education, was felt across large parts of the country. New England-bred and -influenced teachers, ministers, and elocutionists spreading across the land left many an [ant] aunt and ['rada*-] rather behind them. A combination of sloth, indifference, hostility, and good States

came

lost h.

close to having

sense put limitations to this trend, but the influence of public

schooling should not be underestimated. speakers were to be

Many

made American. Many

non-English

English speakers

were rising into the middle class and needed standards to speak by. This became especially important in the developing urban melting pot centers, where class consciousness was very

There is some reason to believe that foreign-language communities often adopt a kind of schoolbook English before complete language assimilation takes place. In general, public schooling has done much to reduce variation within regions. American Blacks, who as a group were long denied adequate public schooling, show some marked departures from regional and national norms, retaining older forms derived strong.

from

British English and, perhaps, early Creole. Likewise, in

Appalachia, where until recently public schooling was less constant than elsewhere, many older speakers still retain what are seen today as unusual forms (although the view that

some

pure Old, Middle, or Elizabethan English is still spoken there is an exaggeration and rests only on the survival of a handful of archaic words and phrases). In addition, the rise of large regional universities, by mixing many young speakers, has

done much

to level variations of pronunciation not only

within but across regions. As a result,

many college-educated,

socially mobile speakers retain less regional and local pronunciation than their parents do. Other twentieth-century developments have also modified

some of which became

communication, this process is happening nationally. Even as new variants appear and spread, and as many speakers become aware of the developing national standard, they come to view the older regional and local patterns as social liabilities.

One

casualty of this process

folk speech, the language of

is

continuing local tradition unaffected by schooling. Formerly

now occurs less frequently, among some Black and Appala-

widespread, folk pronunciation

although conservative usage

chian speakers gives the appearance of social and regional patterning. Pronunciations like [drin] for drain, [nari] for

narrow, [jam] for join,

[clam] for elm,

[aeks] for ask,

all

of

which date to the eighteenth century or earlier, are now considered rustic even though some of them like [jam], were at one time fashionable, even literary. Meanwhile, even as some changes in regional and social AE pronunciation can be observed,

more

general changes continue to occur largely

beyond conscious comprehension and social

AE

movement

as well as to internal linguistic pressures.

variation

uneven

is

in

its

parts of the United States; greater

urban

Not only

are local

and complexity. The more diverse than other

density

Eastern Seaboard and the South are west.

control, responsive to

homogeneity occurs farther

and regional variation

greater but

social diversity is greater in older cities;

western

cities

regions

more

tend to

reflect the

directly than

moreover,

speech of their surrounding

do eastern

cities.

This too

is

extend their influence outward and the western cities begin to differentiate themselves from their rural areas. New York metropolitan speech is pushing changing, as the older

cities

and New Jersey and up the Hudson Los Angeles is beginning to differentiate itself from the rest of southern California (San Francisco has been separate for some time, for other reasons, from northern California). St. Louis, is, in a number of ways, different from its surrounding area, whereas the newer and more western Kansas City is still a good reflection of its environs, with only some younger speakers beginning to initiate change. Similarly, between Boston and Richmond, a driving distance of little over five hundred miles, many differences of pronunciainto parts of Connecticut Valley. Greater

Guide

xlix

tion are encountered. In contrast,

more than twice

from

an east-west view

is

Los Angeles, homogeneity exists. If

Seattle to

that distance, relative

taken, as opposed to a north-south one, a

somewhat

different picture appears. Starting at the Eastern

Seaboard,

it

possible to

is

move

westward finding

directly

decreasing variation the farther one proceeds.

may modify

or even override regional

ones. Furthermore, lines that separate users of

one feature regions and

from those of another are seldom clear-cut. If groups are to be defined by their pronunciation, the definitions must be in terms of sets of often overlapping features,

and

times they must incorporate quantitative and social

at

qualifications.

limited

is

example,

The more detailed the

set

of features, the more

the social or regional group being described. For the

if

postvocalic

feature in a set

first

the possible area

/r/,

parts of the East Coast

tion of /au/ as [seu]

is

is

is full

articulation of

very large, excluding only

and the South.

If a

fronted pronuncia-

added, the likely area has been reduced

South Midland, the western part of the Midwest, and much of the Southwest. If a lack of a contrast between /a/ and /o/ is added and the speaker is middle-aged or old, the area is further reduced to part of the high Plains and Rocky Mountain states. If full articulation of the wide diphthongs is added, it is likely to be an urban area. If alternation of /e/ for /ae/, and a rounded vowel in "short o" words, are added, the set is typical of, for example, Wichita, Kansas. Again, to be fully to the

specific

it is

often necessary to build social

data into the

and quantitative

Ultimately, of course, each individual

set.

speaker has sets that themselves contain variables.

Although overviews of regional variations in AE are somewhat risky, they can be valid and useful if properly qualified. One such overview is that derived from data gathered by a series

of projects

known

the United States

backgrounds were held constant a greater similarity of use would be revealed. Another example is the pronunciation of aunt. Although both races have both /aent/ and /ant/ in the South, Blacks are most likely to have /ant/ and Whites /sent/. Outside the South, Blacks show varying degrees of assimila-

and regional patterns. When the Black population is small and dispersed, as in a city like Minneapolis or in many small midwestern towns, assimilation is nearly complete. When numbers are larger or the concentration is great, tion to local

The foregoing account needs qualification, however. Some pronunciation features, especially on the East Coast, do run north and south, though with regional pockets and disjunctures. Social features

as in is

fifty

lexical

The

general areas established by Atlas

researchers include four basic regions:

( 1 )

the North, repre-

New England and its westward extensions; (2) the North Midland, representing the Central Atlantic states and their westward extensions; (3) the South Midland, representing the Middle Atlantic states and their westward extensions; and (4) the South, representing the spread of plantation culture. There are, of course, numerous subareas within each senting

of these regions.

The data gathered

for

DARE often corrobo-

by Atlas fieldwork, but they also show mixing of features across "boundaries" and suggest the rate the regions described

existence of

Two tiated

still

more

subareas.

young and the Black, are differenfrom those around them sufficiently to warrant special social groups, the

attention. Regional generalizations such as those in the fol-

lowing sections do not always account for pronunciations that are common in Black communities. In the South, the races share many pronunciation features, though the proportions of Black and White speakers having any single feature

may

For example, /6/ and /6/ are frequently pronounced /t/ and /d/ in Black speech, less frequently, though not rarely, vary.

among

Whites.

It is

—

cities,

preservation of southern features

for example, as in the greater likelihood of

tion are different, these generalizations are also true for

lachian Whites

who have moved

to northern

Appa-

and western

areas.)

Young speakers, especially socially mobile ones, appear to be breaking with local speech patterns in favor of broader regional and perhaps even newly developing national ones. As the United States becomes more completely urbanized (integrated) in its social structure, the language will necessarily reflect that trend.

The movement seems

articulation of vowels farther forward in the

ued

loss

to be toward mouth; contin-

of marginal contrasts such as /a/-/o/ {cot

vs.

caught)

or /d/-/o/ before /r/ {for \s.four); reinstatement of postvocalic /r/;

and lowering of /i/ and

/e/ to /i/

and

/e/ before

threatening the contrast between feel and fill, sale and

/l/,

sell.

These and other adjustments appear to be spreading (although trends can change quickly and unexpectedly). Thus,

many of the features discussed in inconsistent in

young

may be more stable among older

succeeding sections

speakers' use,

speakers.

and

years to the

particularly revealing of the effects of nineteenth-

century migrations.

northern

dropping of postvocalic /r/, preservation of the contrast between /a/ and /d/ (when Whites in the same community are losing it), and lack of a contrast between pin and pen. Here, too, of course, differing social and educational backgrounds produce marked variation. (Although details of pronuncia-

3. it is

many

common

collectively as the Linguistic Atlas of

and Canada. Based on both

phonological data collected over nearly present,

to Pronunciation

possible that

if social

and educational

The

DARE Pronunciation Key

This section has three major divisions:

I.

Alternations be-

tween Sound Units, II. Variation within Sound Units, III. Summary of Major Regional Variants. The purpose of section 3.1 is to describe particular phonological contexts and to show how more than one sound unit can be used in such contexts without changing the meaning of a word. For example, in the words near, cheer, and beer, two vowels, f\l and /i/, occur frequently in AE. The words mean the same thing no matter which vowel sound is used. In other contexts, however, the two vowels are not interchangeable: in such word pairs as /bit/ beat and /bit/ bit, /sip/ seep and /sip/ sip, /liv/ leave and /liv/ live, /pic/ peach and /pic/ pitch, the vowel is the sound unit that signals a difference in meaning, and to use a different vowel is to confuse the listener. Section 3.1 describes many contexts in which more than one vowel can occur without altering the meaning of a word. This kind of alternation between vowels can vary either by geographic region or by social group. Section 3. II describes the kinds of variation that can occur within individual sound units. For example, the diphthong /au/ of about occurs as [au], [au], or [aeu] in most parts of the country but is often [au] in parts of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina and the coastal areas of South Carolina.

1

Guide

to Pronunciation

I

Georgia, and Florida. All three variants, however, are under-

stood as signifying the

same word

recognizably different, they

all

—

that

is,

represent the

strongly in the Northeast, North,

though they are

by geographic region,

country into Pennsylvania. Infrequently the sounds

social group, or individual

/e/, /3/ occur, particularly

speaker.

Because both variation between units and variation within units can be the result of the conditioning effects of neighbor-

may seem somewhat artificial. For example, the phonological context of a vowel followed by /s/ yields variation between [aes] and [aeis] in the word ash, with both [ae] and [aei] being considered variants of the same sound unit. But before /s/ in the word push, many speakers who have [asi] in ash will have [pus] rather than [pus] /u/ and /u/ being considered two different sound units. Since the conditioning effect of the following /s/ determines the vowel in both cases, to consider one variation to be within a unit and the other to be between units may seem inconsistent. But it is not the behavior of the sounds in all of their environments that determines the classification of sound units; just one and while the divisions used here may overlap on occasion, the basic framework reflects as accurately as possible the functioning of the sound units in AE as a whole. Section 3. Ill describes some of the major alternations considered in 3.1 and 3. II in terms of their broad regional pat-

b.

/3/ as alternates.

care, dare, etc.)

try, /ae/

Word

/ae/,

incidence (chair,

highly variable, /e/ is most frequent in and southeastern quarters of the coun-

is

the northeastern

occurs, especially in older speakers, in the South

Midland from southern Delaware

into Texas

and

rarely

The rarer /i/, /a/, and /3/ appear most commonly on the Atlantic and

in the rural West.

—

sporadically but

Gulf coasts. c.

barn, farm, car, etc.

The vowel

/a/ occurs throughout

some differences in The rounded low-back vowel Delmarva and in parts of the

the country (though variants have distribution: see 3. II. 10).

—

/d/

sometimes occurs, West (as Utah).

in

rural

d. poor, sure,

moor,

appears to be no historical

and /3/ found

etc. less

Variation in words of this type complicated than each word's

development. The vowels /u/, /u/, /o/, /o/, major alternants. Both /u/ and /o/ can be all parts of the country, with /u/ and /u/ most

are the

in

frequent in the northeastern quarter, /o/ and /d/ in the

terns.

Even though geographical areas where variants frequently are

listed,

following caveats: (1)

the reader should keep in

Not

all

the

is

speakers within the given area

e.

1

number and the social types of speakers interviewed. The complexities become greater but more identifiable in intenthe

f.

tions.

They

their

major geographical

burn /barn/, earth /ar0/. It is less common today than formerly and occurs most frequently among older

3.1.0

Vowels.

3.1.

Vowels before

a. fear,

speakers and those with

are to be used as a pronunciation key to the

Alternations between

Sound

beard, near, etc.

Both

monosyllabic words.

/i/

and

tionwide, varying in complex ways, strongly in the Southeast

g. fire,

Units

retroflex /r/ in

and

/i/

are found na-

/i/

occurs most

as far west as Texas, less

common

/larn/,

limita-

dictionary entries and for general interest and information.

the least

usual here, but /a/ also occurs sporadically, as in learn

sive local studies. In brief, the following sections describe the

most notable variants and

much of the West. vowel in this context, occurring /3/ mainly in the word sure (where it is quite general), and varying both by speaker and by social context. horse, hoarse, morning, mourning, etc. /o/ predominates in both word types, but /o/ is a major variant, /a/ an infrequent one. A distinction between /o/ in horse and morning and /o/ in hoarse and mourning occurs inconsistently along the East Coast (becoming more frequent in the South) and even less consistently in inland areas, such as central New York state, St. Louis, and perhaps the rural west. It appears to be retained mostly by older speakers. When no distinction is made between /o/ and /d/, these words appear to have /o/ most strongly in the Northeast and the Southeast, with some currency in the rural West, /a/ occurs sporadically, occasionally as a stigmatized feature, in the South Midland extending from North Carolina into Texas and the rural West; in the St. Louis area it is characteristic of urban speech. Constricted variants of /3/ are learn, earth, service, etc. southeastern quarter, /u/ and /o/ in

are used

mind

can be expected to use any given form; social and localized restrictions are numerous and complex. (2) The frequency of occurrence of any form relative to its variants may be very high in some geographical locations but low in others. For example, the tensing of all lax vowels before /s/ and /z/ occurs in the speech of a diminishing minority of speakers from Delaware through the Ohio River Valley. But the use of the vowel /e/ rather than /e/, as in measure [mezV], treasure [treza -], is much more widespread geographically and in terms of the number of speakers using it than alternations between other vowels before /s/ and /z/. (3) The sound described may well occur outside the designated geographical area; these areas should be taken as broad designators of relatively frequent occurrence of a variant. (4) No study is likely to discover all possible pronunciation variants. Especially in a wide area survey such as the DARE survey, done largely to collect lexical variants, there are limitations on both

3.1

and

/e/,

among older speakers in parts

of the South Midland, such as the Ozark region. bear, chair, hair, etc. /e/ predominates, with /e/, /i/, /a/,

ing sounds, the distinctions

—

general geographically, appears to predomi-

nate in the West and eastward through the center of the

This kind of alternation of sounds within individual units can also vary

more

Ill,

same sound unit.

and urban West Coast.

h.

tire,

wire, etc.

little

formal education.

The diphthong

/ai/ is the

most

frequent vowel in these words, although /a/ also occurs frequently in the South Midland and adjacent areas, and occasionally in the rural West, /o/ sometimes occurs in Delmarva. The /au/ diphthong occurs flower, shower, hour, etc. frequently in these words, though occasionally /a/ most is

heard, especially in Pennsylvania,

occasionally in the South Midland.

and

/ae/

occurs

Guide

3.1.2

Vowels before

nearly

intersyllabic /r/.

Because of the strong influence on vowels of an horrible)

can be said that /o/ is especially frequent in the Boston area and also occurs irregularly, particularly among older speakers, from western Penn-

syllable, in polysyllabic

vowel variation depends, in

part,

f.

see 3. II.

g.

/a/ occur. h.

result, bulk, etc.

/a/

predominates, with /u/ also occur-

i.

especially 3.1.4

The word orange has

/a/

younger speakers who otherwise have

/o/.

in those words.

occurs, especially in areas of the East

postvocalic /r/ in monosyllables.

Vowels before

inci-

have

among some

fre-

common,

also very

/i/

and in the and /e/ are not distinis

onion, country, un-, etc.

/a/ occurs

most

frequently,

but the lower central vowel /a/ also occurs, especially as a prefix, as in

uncommon,

uncertain, unequal, etc. /a/

seems to be most frequent in the Mid Atlantic, Upper Midwest, and parts of the South. It results in spellings such as "oncommon" and has been stigmatized as a

/l/.

the usual vowel

"wrong" pronunciation. dawn, etc. Both /a/ and /o/ occur frequently, with /o/ being more common in the East and South and /a/ predominating in the Inland North and the urban areas on,

of the West. area.

/e/ predominates, but /ae/

alternates, especially in the speech of those

who have /e/

3.1.5

really, steel, wheel, etc.

Although

/i/ is

/i/ is most common, but /i/ also from Delaware and Maryland westward through the Ohio River Valley into northwestern Missouri; it also occurs occasionally in the rural West and in the South Midland, /i/ is most frequent among

the most

com-

speakers of all ages across the southern half of the coun-

words of

have /i/. The alternation does not affect all speaker who pronounces

this type equally: a

really as ['nU] will not necessarily

pronounce

older speakers. b.

of /e/ also

most common, but a varoccurs, especially among younger

among c.

two sound units /e/ and /e/. words such as sale and sell do not usually sound alike for those who have /e/ in sale. call, doll, fall, etc. /a/ predominates, but /o/ is a frequent alternate. These vowels are highly variable in

etc.

/e/ predominates, is

similar to

that of f\l in fish (above), except that it occurs more extensively in the South and West and is more frequent

/e/ is

speakers in the West. Because of variation within the

measure, treasure, fresh, edge,

but /e/ also occurs. The distribution of /e/

steel as

[ltd].

d. sale, jail, mailer, etc.

/s/, /z/, /c/, /)/.

dish, itch, etc.

occurs, especially

vowel, younger speakers throughout the West and

try frequently

Vowels before

a. fish,

rather than /i/ in milk, pillow, Illinois, etc.

iant

most

/e/ occurs is

as bench. b.

c.

television, yellow, help, etc.

mon

/i/

For some speakers,

/o/

in these words, /e/ also occurs, especially in the Great

Lakes

While

(The word been, which is pronounced /bin/ in much of the country, is occasionally /ben/ in the South even for those who have /i/ in pen, men, send, etc.) /e/ and /ae/ also occur occasionally, especially in the South Midland, in such words

and South that lack

/i/ is

etc.

regularly

The Inland North and

While

/n/.

mentor,

restricted to particular words.

West have both vowels.

milk, pillow, Illinois, etc.

speakers in the West.

guished before /n/, while for others the coalescence

/3/ predominates, but /a/ also

hurry, curry, furry, etc.

ten,

rural West.

morrow and sorry, for example, have /a/ generally; but some speakers in the North, particularly the western Illinois)

most com-

is

especially in the southern half of the country

dence, however, complicates this generalization. To-

Great Lakes area (Wisconsin, northern

non-

the lax vowel /u/ also occurs occasionally,

among younger

Vowels before pen,

tense vowel /u/

quently, the higher vowel

probably predomi-

Word

Midland and adjacent

in the West, especially in

The

cool, fool, pool, etc.

mon, but

on the East Coast, extend-

lessening in frequency in the rural West.

and sporadically

metropolitan areas, /a/ occurs occasionally.

ing westward through the southern half of the country,

e.

The /au/ diphthong is the most

howl, prowl, growl, etc.

areas

/o/

itself;

common vowel in these words, but occasionally /ae/ and

and the South which lack postvocalic /r/ in monosyllables, but also in the Inland North through the Great Lakes region to the West, where word incidence complicates description. The word parent, for example, appears to have /ae/ more frequently than other words of the type. In Mary, various, area, and several other words, /e/ is frequent in the South, occasional in some words in the

orange, tomorrow, etc.

usual in

variation within the unit

ring fairly frequently in the South

nates, but /a/ is very frequent

c.

much

is

but the monophthong /a/ also occurs in the

3),

frequently, especially in those areas of the East Coast

b. forest,

b.

1

diphthong

/ai/

South and South Midland.

phia and Texas.

a.

The

pile, mild, child, etc.

these words (with

North. In merry, bury, /e/ predominates, but /3/ also occurs sporadically, especially in such areas as Philadel-

3.1.3

it

sylvania into the rural West.

a.

c.

making generalizations somewhat

contexts,

unreliable, but

/r/ follow-

words (e.g., cany, on whether the present is at the end of the stressed articulation /r/ medial next syllable only. (The possible syllable or at the onset of the effects of presence or absence of this "linking" sound apply to /l/ as well.) However, variants produced by other influences also occur in these word types. /e/ occurs most a. carry, parent, merry, Mary, bury, etc. frequently in these words overall, with some striking variation in word incidence and in regional patterning. In words like carry, parent, and marry /ae/ also occurs

same

ing in the

all

to Pronunciation

speakers of all age groups.

bush, push, butcher, etc.

/u/ predominates, but /u/

also occurs, especially in the

South Midland and into the to be receding. Infre-

rural West.

Use of /u/ seems

quently, /3/ occurs. d.

rush,

mush, begrudge,

etc.

/a/

is

by

far the

most com-

21

Guide

to Pronunciation

mon

e.

vowel, but /e/ also occurs, especially in the South Midland, and /3/ occurs sporadically, especially among older, less educated speakers in the rural Ohio Valley, Both /a/ and /o/ occur fregosh, wash, botch, etc. quently, with /a/ being usual in the South, parts of the Northeast, and much of the West, and /o/ occurring regularly in the South Midland. Occasionally the diphthong /oi/ occurs, especially in the Ohio River Valley and in parts of the South Midland. Pronunciations with intrusive /r/ [wars], [wors], [gars], [gors] also occur, with widespread though sporadic evidence from Pennsylvania westward and southward (except in areas without postvocalic /r/ ), and occasional occurrence on

—

the

3.1.6 a.

—

West Coast.

Vowels before egg,

leg,

/g/, /rj/.

keg, etc.

/e/ predominates, but /e/

is

also

frequent, sometimes alternating with /e/ even within the

generalizations

with the low vowels in other contexts, younger speakers

appear to be adopting the more fronted vowel. Variation between /a/ and /o/ is long, song, strong, etc. complex, but /o/ probably predominates in terms of both geographic range and use throughout different age groups. The unrounded /a/ occurs on the Atlantic Coast from Virginia southward to Florida, and in the urban West. It also occurs from Pennsylvania westward, often varying with

/o/.

The South Midland has its

and

in eastern

/o/ are

mixed

New

England, /a/

quent in the western Great Lakes area, and

mon

often

/o/

is

is fre-

com-

further west.

ring, thing, think, etc.

/e/

/o/,

western regions. In the North, /a/

varying with /a/ in

and

/ae/ also

While

/i/ is

most frequent, both Midland

occur, especially in the South

These words exemplify and /u/. /u/ dominates in the usage of younger speakers and those in urban areas, although any word may prove an exception. The rural, the older, and the less educated often have variable usage, even for a single word. The less frequent vowel /u/ has its most frequent occurrence in the Northeast, sporadically west through the Great Lakes into Minnesota, and on the South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts into Texas, with scattered occurrences in the rural West (being most frequent there in Washington and Hawaii). /a/

3.1.9

/o/ after /w/.

/ae/

and

/o/ (particularly

aunt, rather, dance, path, etc. [a]

and

/ae/

predominates, with /a/

retracted

[a>]

as variants) also

New

England and on the Atlantic Coast. Word incidence appears to be highly variable in those areas that have [a] and [a>]. Word incidence is a stylistic factor occurring, especially in

older speakers in much of the country, including Hawaii, where /a/ may be used in aunt and rather in reading style, but /ae/ appears in conversational usage. Aunt and

among

rather have frequent incidence of /a/ (articulated as sporadically as [a]) in

down

New

/o/.

when

Other areas frequently have

articulated as [d])

occurs occasionally in Pennsylvania and

the East Coast to Florida,

and

[a>])

(articulated

England, but are quite variable in incidence.

/d/,

is

/a/,

but

not infrequent, /a/

New Jersey. In wash,

most of the East Coast (except for eastern England) and throughout the South into Texas, and

/a/ occurs along

New

often in the West; /d/ ically.

is

Watch appears

frequent elsewhere; /a/ occurs sporad-

more

to have /a/

frequently than /o/

everywhere, but backed or rounded forms occur sporadically. 3.1.10

/u/, /ju/, /iu/ after /t/, /d/, /n/.

Following an alveolar consonant, the tube, due, new, etc. vowel /u/, the palatalized glide /ju/, and the back-gliding vowel /iu/ all occur, /u/ is most common, occurring through most of the country. In addition to /u/, /ju/ also occurs frequently on the Atlantic Coast from Delaware and Maryland south into Florida, then westward into Arkansas and eastern Texas, as well as in the San Francisco area and in Hawaii. There is also scattered usage in the rural West. In New England, /iu/ occurs alongside /u/, though less frequently than formerly. It is most common in the speech of those with little formal education. The vowel [iu], probably to be considered a variant of /ju/, also occurs in word sets with o spellings. For example, do and too occur as [dm] and [tm] sporadically, not only in areas with /ju/ in due and tube, but also in the South and the rural West, even among speakers who lack the glide in new, due, etc.

Alternation of /oi/ and /ai/ before

1

joint, point, boil, oil, poison, hoist, etc.

/a/ ("broad a").

(including both fronted

These words have both /a/ and

among words and even word-forms (e.g., wash, Washington) being common. In water most of the East Coast

3.1.

3.1.7

and

wash, water, watch.

extending into Texas, with sporadic occurrences in the

South and the rural West.

ft/, /f/, /v/,

coop, root, roof, hooves, room, etc.

and the South have

making

front consonants: /p/,

a limited set that gives evidence of variation of /u/

South Midland into the Southwest, /e/ is most frequent; South and the lower Ohio Valley, both vowels occur. Cag, with /ae/, was once very common for keg. Both /a/ and /o/ are current, but they log, frog, fog, etc. vary more by word incidence than the vowels in other

somewhat tenuous. On the whole, /a/ is most frequent across the North and in the urban West; /o/ is most frequent through the Ohio River Valley, the South Midland, and into the rural West. The South and eastern New England have /o/ most frequently, with /a/ occurring not infrequently. As

d.

and /u/ before

with variation

classes,

c.

/u/

3.1.8

An/.

speech of individuals. Across the North /e/ dominates, becoming mixed with /e/ in the rural West; from the in the

b.

Younger speakers appear to have /ae/ forms more frequently and regularly across the word set.

/l/,

/n/, /s/, /z/.

The most frequent

vowel in these words is the diphthong /oi/. In parts of eastern New England, in the southern Appalachians, in scattered areas of the Mid and South Atlantic, and sporadically elsewhere, /ai/ also occurs, /ai/ older people in folk speech

is

and

especially

common among

also retained as a jocular

is

form among some speakers of standard English. Word incidence varies, with /ai/ occurring more frequently in hoist than in other words, with heist perhaps being understood as a distinct

word.

3.1.

Vowels in weakly

1

a.

stressed final syllables.

haunted, bucket, houses,

etc.

such words the front vowel

/i/

In the final syllable of (often articulated as a

7

5

Guide appears to predominate over mid-

retracted variant

[*])

central /a/, /a/

most

is

common

from the Mid Atlantic

westward to Ohio, alternating with /i/ into the West and Southwest. The North, most of the South, and the West have /i/ predominantly. states

Words of this type vowel /i/ also occurs in folk northern New England and parts of

sofa, china, California, Florida, etc.

b.

end

usually

in /a/, but the

speech (especially in the South

Midland and South), and

/3/ (articulated as

Both /i/ and /a/ occur in mixed usage. In general, natives of these places tend to have /a/, while outsiders

Missouri, Cincinnati,

c.

etc.

these place names, with widely

d.

tend to use spelling-pronunciations with meadow, window, follow, tomato, etc.

group

may end

/i/.

Words of

this

in /o/, /a/, or /3/ (articulated as [a -]). In 1

North Midland, in the South Mid-

general, /o/ predominates in the North,

and West, while /a/ land,

is

most frequent

South, and their settlement areas.

among

folk speakers in the

/3/ also occurs. In

side /o/

and

/a/.

words

Like

folk speech in the

Especially

South Midland and South, borrow,

like

/3/, /i/

between the stop and the stop plus a palatal glide occurs. The most often in the South Midland and in parts of the South. Less frequently the clusters occur before front vowels, as in care and carry, often articulated as [ki] rather than [kj]. These clusters occur most often on the Atlantic Coast between the Potomac and Savannah Rivers, sporadically westward to the Mississippi River, and occasionclusters /kj/, /gj/ occur

ally in the

/i/

occurs along-

occurs most frequently in

West.

Alternations among stops and fricatives. Use of the stops /t/ and /d/ rather than the fricatives /0/ and /67, as in thing [tin] and this [dis], is fairly widespread, 3.1.

[&]) also appears occasionally.

1

urban areas (where it is often characteristic of working-class speech), in the South (especially among Blacks), and in areas such as the Upper Midwest and the Southwest that have had dense settlement by foreign-language speakers. These alternations are common even within an individual's speech. Others are much less common: use of especially in northern

/f/ for /0/

and /v/ for/6/

the use of /b/ where /v/

South Midland and South.

somewhat

less

systematic in geographic distribution than those for the vowels,

and often occur less

3.1.14

Alternations

regularly in

all

the words in a

occurs

voiceless stops: /p/,

/t/, /k/.

Alternations between voiced and voiceless consonant /p~b/, /t~d/, /f~v/, /s~z/, /9~67, /c~J/.

Alternations between voiced and voiceless counterparts

occur with some frequency. In a word such as Baptist, for example, the pronunciations [baebdts(t)] and [baebHs(t)], rather than [baeptts(t)], are

common,

South words as greasy, characteristic of most of the

and South Midland. The use of /z/ blouse, (and perhaps absurd)

South, the Midland, and

is

especially in the

in such

South but

such as New York City) and on the West Coast. In the words with and without, both voiced /5/ and voiceless /0/ occur, with /6/ generally dominating in the North and usage being mixed elsewhere. Some alternation between /f/ and /v/ takes place, as in nephew ['neyju] and fascinator ['vaesmeta1 ], but this seems to be a relic pattern occurring in scattered isolated communities rather than in broad regional patterns. The use of /c/ where /]/ is usual, as in college ['kalic], occurs infrequently, being largely restricted to areas of dense foreign-

tions,

language settlement.

is

is

Occurrence of the

expected, as in business

especially frequent in the

is

not restricted to that area.

is

usually preceded by a velar stop, alternation

among

Alternation of /s/ for /s/

and affricates. occurs most frequently before fricatives

/r/,

and shrivel, with pronunciations [snmp], occurring most often in the South and South

as in shrimp, shrink, [snrjk], ['snval]

Midland, often among Blacks. Scattered instances occur elsewhere. (A further substitution, yielding [swimp], [swirjk], [swival], also occurs

most frequently among Blacks

in the

South.) In such words as measure, garage, beige, and televi-

and /]/ alternate, but stylistic and social variation are

sion, /z/

more prominent than [ga'raz]

and

ciation

is

['meja -], 1

regional patterning. In garage, both

[ga'raj] are frequent,

though the former pronun-

often a learned one. Pronunciations of the type

and

[beij],

speakers with

words such

['tela.vijan]

little

occur most frequently

formal education. The same

as rinse, lance,

and

[laenc], [wine]);

such forms

is

among

true for

where /c/ can occur for consonant ([rmc], [renc],

wince,

/s/ in contexts following a nasal

illustrate the preservation

of older

pronunciations. Alternations

3.1.19

among

fricatives

and

frictionless con-

tinuants.

Use of the /v/

is

frictionless

continuant /w/ where the fricative

expected, as in varmint ['wa(r)mi(n)t], very ['weri], and

November [no'wemba'-] is a characteristic both of English Cockney speech and of creolized varieties of English; it occurs most frequently among Blacks in the South Carolina -Georgia Low Country, and also occurs occasionally in Hawaii. The reverse alternation, of /v/ for /w/ as in

wax [vaeks]

occurs, but

rarely.

The

articulation of /h/ before /w/, as in wheel [hwil], where

[hwer],

Alternation between /k~kj/, /g~gj/. In words such as car, garden, and cow, where the low vowel 16

or diphthong

less frequently.

[Wdnt],

Alternations

much

of the Southwest, while /s/ in those words occurs regularly in the North (with a few excep-

3.1.

among

set.

These consonants occasionally alternate with one another, though not always in regular or reciprocal patterns. In such words as ask, desk, and stark, /t/ can occur for usual /k/; the reverse is true in words such as turtle, blast, and credit, where /k/ sometimes occurs. Infrequently /t/ occurs where /p/ is usual in words such as wasp [wast]; and /p/ for /t/ has been observed in such forms as catnip [kaepnip]. The velar stop /k/ can alternate with the bilabial /p/, as in baptize ['baek,taiz].

pairs:

much

['bidms], or wasn't

3.1.18

among

[wiv] occurs

expected, as in seven ['scbn], ['sebm]

stop /d/ where the fricative /z/

Alternations between consonants tend to be

1

is

and with

conservative Black speakers;

or drive [draib] also occurs especially frequently

['feva.weri],

3.1.

as in tooth [tuf ]

among

occasionally, especially

Blacks; the reverse alternation, of /v/ for /b/, as in February

Consonants.

3.1.13

to Pronunciation

why

[hwai],

pronunciations

seems to be receding in favor of the and [wai]. Use of /hw/ is highly

[wil], [wer],

subject to style shifting, occurring

much more

frequently in

reading and formal speech than in conversational speech.

Guide

to Pronunciation

liv

may become

Regional patterns of use of /hw/ and /w/ were identifiable several generations ago but are much less so today, with use varying greatly within regions and even within the speech of

such as wasps, desks, and fists may be reduced to [wasp], [desk], [fist], or even further to [was], [des], [fis], or may have

humor and

a vowel added between consonants to facilitate articulation,

many individuals.

Retention of /h/ before /j/, as in

huge, also varies widely within regions, with /hj/ probably

dominant.

The New York

City metropolitan area often has

do other parts of the East Coast, but this varies from word to word as well as within and across regions.

/j/,

as

Nasal consonants.

3.1.20

among

['mAS.run] occurs sporadically;

it is

especially frequent

among

older speakers.

Alternation of /r/ and

distinct regional

and

consonant

same

/r/ varies fairly

social patterns. Therefore, the use of/?/

one of the most easily recognized features of variation in AE. Postvocalic /r/ is regularly retained in all of the Midland and North (except for eastern New England and the New York City metropolitan area) and in the West and Southwest. It is also retained in some areas of the Atlantic Coast, as in Delmarva and parts of the Carolinas. On most of the Atlantic Coast, however, and through most of the South (with the exception of many areas in Florida), and sporadically elsewhere, postvocalic /r/ is not retained but occurs as /a/. That is, words such as fort, charm, and fire are pronounced not as [foar-t], [caann], and [faia^], but as [fost], [caam], and [faia], where the /a/ is neither a part of the preceding vowel nor the nucleus of a second syllable. Within the geographic patterns outlined above, some social distinctions can be made. Particularly in understood as the

loss or

"dropping" of /r/ )

is

with large numbers of Black residents, the /a/

consonant occurs alongside /r/. In areas of predominant use of /a/, the adoption of /r/ seems to be spreading among younger and better-educated speakers. 3.1.22

Reduction of consonant

In syllables with two or

clusters.

more contiguous consonants,

the

pronounced without the distinct of each sound. In words such as ground, boiled,

cluster is often "reduced," or

articulation last,

width, loaves, for instance,

one

final

many speakers articulate only

consonant, producing [graun], [boil], [laes], [wiG], words with three final consonant sounds,

[loz]. Similarly, in

the clusters are often reduced to two or even one consonant:

asked

[aeskt]

Cluster reduction can also

[fis(t)iz].

and medially,

as in scratch [kraec], library

government ['gAvannant], ['gAvmant]. While reduction of consonant clusters occurs in all regions, it is somewhat more frequent in the South and South Midland than else['laiben],

Excrescent sounds.

3.1.23

The introduction of sounds where there is no historic basis for them occurs frequently, with regional and social patterns varying from word to word. Such "intrusive" or "excrescent" sounds may be either vowels or consonants. They may occur initially,

medially, or finally,

and appear in such varied words

as across [a'krast], anything ['eniGink], apron ['empran], athlete

['aeGalit],

attic

[aentik],

balance

breakfast

['baelanst],

elm [elam], family ['faembli], percolate ['p^kjulet], and wash [wars]. (See also Language Changes Especially Common in American Folk [brekfrast],

curl [kw3

is

used to indicate a word or sense of questionable genuineness

is

used to indicate unattested or hypothetical forms

is

used for "and"

is

used with dates to indicate

is

used for "derived from"

is

used for "from which

is

used for "equals"

is

first

or

derived"

last attestation

Dictionary of American Regional English

'

a indef art Usu

A

Also eye-dial

|a, e(i)|

er,

MA

ur

Forms.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

B

.

.

Sense.

Before words beginning with a vowel sound: an. freq throughout US 1794 (1936) Parry Jrl. 379 PA, With about a hours work we got off. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 227 IN, Sker'd to hear a Injin holler. Ibid 366, A body in a exercise. Ibid passim. 1889 Edwards Runaways 26 GA, Did n' he sen' you like er aingil? 1899 Chesnutt Conjure Woman 136 NC, Dey is a' easy way ter prove it. 1902 DN'2.227 sIL, A ... The 1903 DA' 2.295 article an is not used. 'A apple,' 'A hour,' 'A image.' Cape Cod (as of 850s). 1903 DN 2.304 seMO. 1906 DN 3.114 sIN. 1907 DN 3.228 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.285 eAL, wGA. 1916 Howells Leatherwood God 19 OH, Like it was a earthquake. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Got me a oil cloth. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, He had a old horse.

MA

1

a vbl aux See have v

v2

1 ,

cWED

[OE on, an; a prep. and note] Usu hyphened to following word, but also separate or joined solid

a prep

1

'

la Prefixed to nouns of place and forming adv phrr. [OED a See 5; cf such now std combinations as ashore, away] also ahorse(back), aside (of), aslew 1622 Mourt's Relation Iournall Plimoth 23, That night we returned prep.

1

884 Archives ofMD 2. 1 60, Sett a Beggar a 1674 in 1 880 Brookhaven NY Records 1 .34, shall forfet 10s. Whosoever shall Run a hors back in the streetes 1910 Hart Vigilante Girl 3 1 5 CA, The rogue who was a-ship had divided the swag with the rogue who was ashore. againe aship boord.

horse back

1669

in

1

& he will Ride. .

.

.

.

—

b in phr a-one-side: To one side. [OED »1684] obs 1823 Cooper Pioneers 2.225 nNY, Knocking ihat carpenter's face a-one-side, as you call it. 1845(1 968) Simms Wigwam & Cabin (1st ser) was a woman. 56 sNC, And there, a little a one side, .

.

.

.

.

.

.

4 Prefixed to a noun and forming an adj of state. [OED a prep. 11; cf std asleep, afloat, etc] See also akink 1818 ( 1937) Guild Jrl. 288 VT, So much beyond my expectations it set me all ahue. 1823 Cooper Pioneers 1.194 nNY, An Indian will drink cider, though he niver be athirst. 1932 Faulkner Light in August 364 MS, And the doctor's Jezebel come running from her lustful bed, still astink with sin and fear. 1940 Sat. Eve. Post 30 Mar 62/2 Sth, He's a-plague with worry. 1944 967) McNichols Crazy Weather 1 6 SW, The horse had been a-lather, but it was dry now. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. B27) Inf IA8, The crick's aflood: (Qu. Y38, Mixed together 'The ") Inf KY24, A-gaum; NV5, things in the drawer are all 8, ") A-jumble; (Qu. GG1 1, "The letter hasn't come and he's Inf MD36. All a-stew; (Qu. 0047a, Sweating: "It was a warm day ") Inf WA31, Were all a-lather; (Qu. and the horses 13, The table was nice and straight until he came along and knocked it Inf RI5, A-tilt; (Qu. X56b, Sweating very heavily} Inf ) ( 1

1

.

and forming adv

[OED

a See also adays

phrr.

.

.

.

MM

.

.

ME 10, A-reek o' sweat. 5 Also sp er-. Prefixed to any pres pple. [OED a prep. 13, "Arch, or dial, save in a few phrases."] Found in resps of Infs with over 125 different verbs: see quot 1965-70 for representative exx. throughout US, but esp freq in Midi, SW; less freq Sth, NEng chiefly among less educ and rural speakers; somewhat old-fash See also 1943 LANE Map 671 1637 in 1868 Essex Inst. Coll. 9.49, Giles said I was the strangest troublesome man a falling out and quarrelling. 1648 ( 1 908) Winthrop Jrl. 2.346, The Welcome, of Boston, about 300 tons ... fell a rolling. 1757 in 1 899 Hamilton Letters to Washington 2.62 V A, Order them out in Parties with some of Your Men a Scalping. 1846 ( 1 934) Boynton Jrl. 364 VT, If I could hold out, long enough to get a-going. 1893 Shands MS Speech, A. By illiterate whites the letter a is almost always used before the present participle. 1899 Edwards Defense 1 1 GA, Thar she was er-sewin' on 'er sewin'-machine. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 52 eNC, wTN, I'm a-tellin' you the truth We didn't do no good a-bearhuntin' We heerd somep'n a-hollerin. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 34, Various verbs with a- occur throughout N. Eng there is no area of any extent where the a- forms do not occur at least occasionally. In the M[iddle] Atlantic] S[tates] these forms are fairly common everywhere except in metropolitan New York City and part of c. and w. 1

DARE

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

common in W.Va

doctor.

person

3 Prefixed to nouns and forming advs or adv phrr of manner. [OED a prep. 9, "Obs."] chiefly Sth See also apurpose, afeet 1899 ( 9 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, A-purpose "You knocked that

swNC, They'sa-swimmin';neOK, He'sa-chunkin'

1

1

,

;

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

In the S[outh] Atlantic]

form a-laughing is given by some seven eighths of the Type I informants and over half of the Type II. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Pappy went a-visiting yesterday. 1965-70 DARE (Numerous Qq.) 167 S[tates] the

throughout US but esp Midi, SW, A-baiting, a-bawling, a-biting, a-blowing, a-coming, a-going, a-kidding, a-laughing, etc. [Of all Infs, 28% had less than hs educ, 69% were from comm-types 4 and 5, and 66% were old; of those giving these responses, 57% had less than hs educ. 86% were from comm-types 4 and 5, and 80% were old.] 1965-70 Addit swAR, A-tryin', a-doin', etc.: schwa always precedes present participle after verb be; ceKY, A-fixing to, a-laying-offto: when a Infs.

DARE

DARE FW

Them

is

anticipating or preparing, or postponing doing something;

was

a-crucifyin'.

1966

DARE

[rocks] at

me; TNI 7,

TN17A, While Jesus Tapes OK24. That's the only way you

chickens was a-mouldin' [FW:=moulting]:

'

1

.

.

Pa. they are particularly

.

1

.

8, "Obs. exc. in a few archaic phrases."] 1686 ( 1 878) S. Sewall Diary 1 34 MA, Seeing the warrants to arrive a Thorsday night. 1707 in 1875 VA Calendar State Papers 1.1 17, We had taken five or more of them a Monday. 1849 Knickerbocker 34.151/1 NY, This lady read a play to Bunkum a-Monday week. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 108 IN, "We'll tend to his case a Christmas." Christmas was two days off. 1871 (1882) Stowe Fireside Stories 242 MA, They'd even race hosses a Sunday. 1926 Roberts Time ofMan 124 KY, Like I said a Sunday to Elmer. 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, I went back down a-Sunday. 1966-69 DARE Tape KYI 6 A, I want you to marry me a-Thursday night; NC2 And a-Monday he carried her over to [the] 1

.

WV

.

2 Prefixed to days or dates prep.

1

T

1888 Jones Negro Myths 37 GA coast, Buh Tiger come out in er hurry, andey graffholderoneanurrer. 1892 Smith Day at Laguerre's 181 VA [Black], She want ur steel one. An' she sez ef yer ain't got no steel one she want ur squart o' molasses. 1893 in 1944 ADD, A [\]. Generally written er by dial, writers, but no sound of r is ever apparent in the negro pron. 1894 Riley Armazindy 52 IN, Rick ye wid er buggy-whirp yer spit The use of 1944 Kenyon- Knott Prone. Diet., A er little blacker. in places where the unstressed [a] belongs, often gives an artificial [e] effect to public address. \944 AmSp 14.44 TX, [waii 'naitdi 'rats 'h:j-d e 'greit 'noiz 5ei 'sent aut 'skauts tu S3^c fo^ 'ei 'nju houm]. .

child down a-purpose." 1903 DA' 2.300 Cape Cod (as of 850s). Purpose ... In expression, 'a purpose,' or 'on a purpose,' purposely. 1908 DA 3.285 eAL, wGA, A Very commonly used for on in such expressions as 'a purpose,' 'a credit.' 1915 DN4. 1 80 swVA, A. Used for on, as 'a purpose.' 1968-70 DARE (Qu. Ul 1) Inf GA77, Bought it a-credit; LA 15, Got it a-credit; (Qu. X43b. If you sleep later than usual) Inf LA2, Stayed in bed a-purpose.

a

/

Aaron's rod

knowed where you was a-goin'; SC 1 6, Cotton been a-goin' [a'gwom] on a ahead of the tobacco. 1975 Allen LAUM 2.45 Upper MW, The

little

Midland oriented, with its greater frequency in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. But although a- is still more common among the least educated, its incidence even in that group has dropped to one-third and in Type II to only one-tenth The a- prefix is probably on the way toward obsolescence. regional distribution of a- seems to be

.

.

.

a prep 2 See of

a conj See or a inert vowel \s\ [Excrescent] Sp separately, hyphened, or joined solid now chiefly Sth, Midi esp among old and less educ speakers Note: unlike a prep the presence of this vowel alters neither the part of speech nor the meaning of the word to which 1

,

attached.

< ME y- < OE je-]

[Prob

Prefixed to a past pple. aknown, ascared 1

See also

1759 in 1882 Essex Inst. Coll. 19.65,1 found that we was abelated out 4 pence per Day. 1788 (1925) Washington Diaries 3.295 VA, The house [was] a good deal a dangered. 1871 ( 1 882) Stowe Fireside Stories 161 MA, Two great elm-trees that's a grown now each side o' the front Ibid 183, Bill had a got him out o' the house. 1926 Kephart gate. Highlanders 299 sAppalachians, Pringle's a-been horse-throwed. 1933 Miller Lamb in His Bosom 5 GA, "Gittin' tired?" "No, I ain't a-tired." 1965-70 DARE (Qq.J3a,b, To make a female dog [or cat] so that she can't breed, she must be ) Inf M09, A-spayed; (Qu. AA24, A man whose wife is dead) Inf TNI 5, A-widowed; (Qu. ") Inf "When she saw the dog coming at her she got GG26, M02, Afroze; (Qu. JJ35b) Inf GA28, Going to get afouled of him; (Qu. KK39, "Because ofthe storm, the pond was all ")InfM015, Kind of a-muddled. .

.

at

.

.

.

Kurath-McDavid

.

.

.

DN

Sinsinnah'ta. 1889 Field Western Verse 36 MO, He Mizzoora where the people are so set. 1893 Chicago Daily Tribune (IL) 6 Aug 29b/2 MO, And every boy here that respects his parents and the Constitution of the United States will always say Mizzouraw. 1944 PADS 2.32 NC, Southern uneducated persons of the lowest class tend to change the pronunciation of a final (unstressed) syllable in -a or -e to [i]. The class just above the lowest mocks at the pronunciation of the lowest, and by over-correction avoids the [i] where it is correct to pronounce it: thus "Miam/" is carefully changed to "Miama," "Cincinnati" to "Cincinnati," etc. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Cola, Ana, Sophia, etc., but Miama, Cincinnata. 1961 KurathMcDavid Prone. Engl. 169, Missouri, Cincinnati These place names end in [a] or in [i ~ i], the former predominating in Western New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and parts of North Carolina, the latter in Eastern New England, Metropolitan New York, Philadelphia, and the Lower South. Elsewhere the two pronunciations are rather evenly matched. There is no marked class cleavage in usage. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. H63, Kinds of desserts) Inf M026, Spimona ice cream; (Qu. H65, Foreign foods) Inf FL1, Raviola [raevi'ob]; NY233,

Cincinnati

.

.

.

.

Raviola;

NJ

1

1

,

.

.

areally runnin'.

3 Prefixed to a preposition. See also anear, anigh, apast prep 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 52 eTN, wNC, He run right a-towards home. 1963 Edwards Gravel 54 eTN (as of 1920s), On this side of the mountain in abelow the Carr Gap. 1

4 As a linking or transition sound. See also thataway, thisaway, whichaway, lookyhere Cf -ma- infix 1908 DN 3.285 eAL, wGA, Ahere "Look ahere, what I found." .

.

.

occurs frequently in such expressions as 'look ayonder,' 'look athere.' 1926 Kephart Highlanders 35 1 sAppalachians, The hillsmen ... are fond of grace syllables: "I gotta me a deck o' cyards." 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 21 4 SC, Ben is gwine to stop sayin so

.

.

my

1

ain'

gwine let you get away wid

house.

5 Prefixed to a finite verb form. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 29 nFL, sGA, The black one a-tolls people in to whar the rattler can nip 'em. 1939 Cheney Lightwood (ADD) GA, You most like a-don't recollect Pa & me a-seein' you. Ibid, We might as well a-make camp some'ers. 1967 DARE (Qu. Z 1 4a, To give a child its own way "Everyone that child. ") Inf M08, Aspoils. .

.

6 Prefixed to an adj. See also ahungry, aloose, aweary. 1931-33 LANE Worksheets VT, I shipped a forty barrels of apples every year. 1967 DARE (Qu. X 7, A damp cellar that had been shut up for some time would smell) Inf TNI 3, Afunky. 1972 Courier-Jrl. I was late getting (Louisville KY) 4 May A 2, Hit was February, and back and ascarce of firewood. 1

1

.

[Haw I'^a^al chiefly HI; now also

aa n


A 2.135 c,eNY, Abs... "He doesn't know his a b abs" (of a stupid boy). 1906 DN3. 142 nwAR, / know my a, [see

r

A-B-Ab

ab's ['ei 'bi 'aebz]. I am sophisticated. Used by the older generation. 1938 Stuart Dark Hills 393 KY, Sweet Bird don't know a letter of the A,

b,

B. abs.

.

.

.

.

—

ABC

Abe n 1

See Abie.

2 See

[a

prep

1

+

back]

also aback of Behind. [DAE "Obs. or dial"] 1783 (1916) Fleming Travels KY 663, Fern Creek is lost in ponds and low flat land a back of the Falls. 1836 Edward Hist. TX 79, Those districts aback of the older settled ones. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 162 nFL, sGA, He heerd somethin' gruntin' a-back of some gallberry bushes. 1943 LANE Map 723 seMA, 1 Inf, A-back of [for "behind"]. 1

.

Abraham

Lincoln.

abeah See abear

abeam At a

aback adv

adj [Transf

from nautical

right angle to one's line of

use]

coastal

NEng

motion.

1942 ME Univ. Studies 56.43 ME, When you've brought the meetin' house abeam you'll see the Town Hall round the bend. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 19 ME, Cape Cod and Long Island, Abeam. At right angles to the length of the ship,

and some distance

off.

Common

in

coastal dialect.

.

[EDDabackA, 1768] 1967 DARE (Qu. A 17, If it was 1960 and you were speaking of something that happened in 1950, you might say "That was ten ") Inf TNI 1, Years aback. 2 Ago.

aback

adj [Transf from naut sense: with the front of the turned toward the wind]

Immobilized; 1903

n

Worms used for bait) Inf GA80, 1969 DARE (Qu. P6, bug has markings on back that look like ABC.

.

2 in var phrr:

1899

iABC bug

sail(s)

at a standstill.

DN 2.293 Cape Cod MA, Aback

.

.

.

'You run your business that

way and first thing you know you're all aback.' [1945 Colcord Sea Language 19 ME, Cape Cod MA, Long Island NY, Aback. Of a vessel, unmanageable, due to a sudden shift of wind striking the side opposite that to which they are trimmed.]

sails

from the

abaft prep [Transf from naut use]

abear v Also pronc-sp abeah [OE aberan; by abide] old-fash or arch

abaft the chimney."

mod use perh infl

Usu

in neg constr: to bear, endure, suffer. 1891 Page Elsket 129 VA [Black], I nuver could abeah chillern ner women to be sullen roun' me. 1916 Lowell Men 290 NEng, Seem's ef I couldn't abear to see the golden-rod bloomin'. Ibid 292, Don't turn from me like that. I can't abear it. 1950 WELS (To dislike a person; "I don't know why, but I just can't him. ") 1 Inf, cwWI, Abear. Rare. [FW: Inf thinks she has heard here.]

Abe

Kabibble,

Abe

abelated See a

Kabiblish See Abie Kabibble

inert

vowel

1

Abe

Lincoln bug n =harlequin cabbage bug. 1901 Howard Insect Book 3 3, Many species possess an extremely bad odor and taste The harlequin cabbage bug ... in parts of Georgia is still known as the "Abe Lincoln bug." 1

.

Behind. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 19 ME, Cape Cod, Long Island, Abaft. Behind (but on board the vessel; behind and outboard is astern). The word is common in coastal speech: "You'll find my valise up attic just

in

.

Abe

.

.

.

Lincoln fence n Also Lincoln fence

briquet "the rail-splitter"]

A

split-rail fence.

[Ref to Lincoln's so-

5

Abe

Lincoln

1931-33

War

about

/

—

LANE

Worksheets ceRI, Abe Lincoln fence same as old DARE (Qu. L62) Inf CT6, Zig-zag fencealso called a "Lincoln fence"; OR1, Lincoln fence same as zigzag.

farmer's fence.

Abe

1967-68

War n

Lincoln Civil

Lincoln 1 for var combinations NEng arch or obs

War]

alluding to the Civil

The

—

DA

[Cf

War.

1943 LANE Map 55 1 1 Inf, csME, Abe Lincoln War. 1969 McDavid Unpleasantness 202, Only in abolitionist New England do we find names that reflect the slavery issue The Nigger War, The Abe Lincoln War, The War for the Blacks.

isms, Abisselfa. A, by itself, A ... In the olden time, the first letter of the alphabet was denominated "abisselfa" when it formed a syllable by itself, as in the word able. The scholar was taught to say, "a, by itself a .

.

able" [1908 Uncle Remus's Mag. Mar 17 (ZW4.435) GA, It was customary to say a -by -itself- a, b- by- itself- b, and so on.] 1917 ZW4.435 cGA, Abiselfa ... in use in Middle Georgia, until about 1835. (rapidly, abisselfa,) b,

I,

e,

,

.

.

able adj 1 Wealthy; influential. [OED able 6, —1863, "Obs. "] 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Able "He is an able man." 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.512. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Able Rich, .

abelow See a

inert

vowel 3

A light blow. abeout See about adv phr [Ger aber

nicht)

See also

Cf left, over

nit

the

1896 DN 1.421 nOH, Nit: sl decided negative ... In [nOH] also aber 1897 KS Univ. Qrly. 6.85 neKS, Aber nit: "over the left." General. 1920 DN 5.77, German words or phrases are employed to contribute to folk-humor in phrases like 'raus mit em, aber nil, etc., but this usage is not so widespread [as that of jocularizing French words], is of another type, and it does not emerge from so cultivated a class. 1927 Lewis Elmer Gantry 59 KS (as of 1903), Prexy Quarles and Juanita! Aber nit! Never get them two together!

Abe's picture See Abraham Lincoln

To

tarry; to wait before

1967

DARE(Qu.

or her to stop

— 1535,

[OED abide!

and

1115,

"obs."]

proceeding further. you might say) Inf IL5, Abide a

bit.

Abie n Also Abe, Aby [Abbr for Abraham Jewish patriarch and still a common Jewish name] usu derog See also Abie Kabib-

1941 LANE Map 455 (Nicknames for a Jew) 1 Inf, nME, [eibt]. 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 385.2, Jew. Abe, Abie. 1950 WELS (Names and nicknames for people Jewish) 1 Inf, ceWI, Aby. of foreign backgrounds 1970 Tarpley Blinky 254 neTX, Nicknames for Jewish people Abie [in list of "other responses"]. .

.

.

.

Jew.

.

.

2 A stingy person. nious]

.

.

[From the stereotype of the Jew

DARE

as parsimo-

The

.

act like

you

air tired.

You

War.

Civil

LANE Map

csME, Abolition War; 1 Inf, seNH, 1969 McDavid Unpleasantness 202, Only in abolitionist New England do we find names that reflect the slavery issue: The Abolition War.

aboon

[SND

prep, adv

wNC

form]

Inf,

EDD aboon. A

abune;

Northern British

rare

Above; higher than. 1891

Aboon

own

Maitland Amer. Slang Diet. 1944 PADS 2.38 cwNC, Above; to think oneself superior. "That 'omern's aboon her kinnery." Rare. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.513 wNC, .

.

.

.

.

.

.

Aboon

.

Rare.

abowoot,

.

—

Abie Kabibble n Also Abe ~ [From the character in Harry Hershfield's popular comic strip Abie the Agent, 1914-1940] See also Abie, ish kabibble

An

unassimilated Jewish immigrant. Hence adj Abe Kabiblish. 1932 Farrell Young Lonigan 1 63 Chicago IL, You got to soft soap some of these Abie Kabibbles. 1 937 ( 1 9 5 8 ) Levin Old Bunch 1 02 Chicago IL, "Hullo, Pisano!" "Hullo, you Abe Kabibble!" 1938 Farrell No Star 1 1 Chicago IL, Danny thought it was funny, all right, old men talking Yiddish. They were Abie Kabibbles, that's what they were. 1970 Feinsilver Yiddish 317, "Abe (or Abie) Kabibble" was presumably a derivative [of ish kabibble]. I've seen this as an adjective: "Abe Kabib-

Forms. 1861 Holmes Venner 152 wMA, What'y' been dreamin' abaout? 1895 DN .372 wNC, eTN, seKY, Let go "The road is back yander, let go 1

.

how, bout

.

.

DN

DN

1901 2.181 KY [Black], 'Bout. 1903 2.291 (as of 1850s), Ou, ow were always au, never xu: 1917 Torrence Granny Maumee 51 [Black], I got er-

MA

about.

.

.

—

1919 DN 5.40 VA, Out, pronounced ow-oot. 1927 Shewmake Engl. Prone. VA 24, In typical Eastern Virginia speech, diphthongal ou or ow is given the dialectal sound represented by (uh-oo) Examples of words in which dialectal ou is heard are about, couch, doubt, [etc.]. 1930 AmSp 5.347 cSC, [aeu] in scouts, out, about. 1930 AmSp 6.94 VA, In the Tidewater about [abaut] or [abut]. 1934 AmSp 9.213 eVA, eSC, Along the coast the diphthong in about and out tends to become [u] or [u]. 1937 AmSp 1 2.290 wVA, [abaeut feis]. 1938 AmSp 1 3.369 nePA, About [a'bat]. 1941 AmSp 16.7 eTX [Black], In Negro speech this diphthong is not often flattened to [aeu] as in 'hill type' speech, but er so.

fifty

.

.

Similarly, "a-bowoot."

.

.

.

.

retains

ment

[a'but];

B As

.

.

.

.

.

standard form, with lengthening of the first ele1967-68 DARE about [ba:ut]. Addits MD, About

.

.

FW

.

cnNY, About

[a'bot].

prep.

by a vbl n (where an

Foil

.

its .

.

[OED

about

infin

kn, ^1865]

is

now common): on the point of.

?obs

1802 (1941) Tucker Diary 313 MA, With the air of one about confer1831 ( 1 927) Rodman Diary 89 MA, Engaged part of the forenoon relative to a cottage which I am about building on the south side of School St. 1837 in 1926 AmSp 2.31 IL, An effort is about being made. al853 ( 1 890) Cutler Life & Times 86 (as of 1 806) CT, My brother was here on his first visit to Ohio, and was about returning on ring a great favor.

.

.

.

lish."

erbout

'bout,

A

.

(Qu. U36a, A person who saves in a mean way or is greedy in money matters: "He's an awful ") Inf WI43, Shylock; Abie a Jewish name.

1968

able 2]

You

War n [CfDA abolition for var combinations alluding War] nNEng

Cape Cod

A

Jew. 1914 DN4. 158 ePA, Aby

[EDD

to the Civil

abeout a mile."

ble, Ikey. 1

.

about prep, adv Usu |(3)'baut, (a)'baut|; also, chiefly Sth, Midi |3'baeut|; in MD, eVA, eSC, often |3'bo:ut, 3'b(a)ut, a'but|; rarely |3'bat|. See Prone Intro 3. II. 14 Pronc-spp abaout, abeout,

old-fash

When somebody is passing by and you want him

talk a while,

cope with.

Fit to

1940 Stuart Trees of Heaven 55 neKY, won't be able fer the dance.

551, 1 Abolition War, older term.

nit.

abide vintr

by for:

2 foil

1943

Definitely not!

.

well-to-do, powerful.

Abolition

1834 Life Andrew Jackson 26 TN, At it they went. Their blows warn't no abel-wackits I can tell ye. Every click tell'd.

nit

.

.

abel-wackit n [Transf from able-whackets a now obs sailors' card game, in which the loser's hands would be beaten or "whacked" by a twisted handkerchief. Cf 1890 Farmer- Henley Slang] obs

aber

.

.

horseback to Massachusetts.

abiselfa n Also abisselfa [Contr of a- by- itself- a the first formula in the "cumulative" method of spelling once popular in the US and Engl: see quot 1848 and cf ampersand < and -perse- and] obs

C As adv.

.

.

The

letter a.

GA Scenes 73, In the good old days offescues, and anpersants, terms which used to be familiar in this country during the Revolutionary war, and which lingered in some of our county schools for a few years afterward. 1848 Bartlett American1840

( 1

847) Longstreet

abisselfas,

[OED about B5b —>1 85

arch 1 ] 1834 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 257 NC, I give unto my son Rezin his own choice of horse beast him and my son Henry chooseing one about. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 166 swMO, A man in Forsyth said: "Maw used to call me an' Fred up a morning about to make the fire." That is, she called the two boys on alternate mornings, so that the task was evenly divided. Which reminds me of the two men in Christian County "By God, I'll chop the damn' thing to pieces!" one Alternately, in turns: see quots.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

about east

"Good idea, Tom," cried the other. "Fetch the ax. an' we'll He meant that they would take turns a-chopping.

yelled.

take a

lick about'"

about east See

about

east,

abscond

/

Abraham's cabbage n Jobs The redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus). 1891 Jrl Amer. Folkl. 4. 148 seM A, A maratus [sic] retroflexus we called Abraham's Cabbage.

+

abouten prep [about

1

-en suff

]

arch Cfwithouten

About. 1925 Glasgow Barren Ground 423 VA, I'se gwine out agin about*n sunup. 1941 Faulkner Men Working 199 MS, Never knowed a thing abouten

adj

phr [Cf EDD about

Jabram n 9]

obs

one's physical condition or health: well

A enough

to

move

about the house: up and around. 1829 ( 94 ) Jones Jrls. 2. 9 NJ, Found all well except Mary E. and she 1839 Walker in 1940 Drury Pioneers is about house and goes out. Spokanes 257 ME, But for this trouble I think I would have been about 1

house

in a

1

1

week.

abouts adv [OED^\553;c{stdhereabouts, thereabouts, whereabouts]

old-fash

Cf along 1 1960 Williams Walk Egypt 17 GA, "You want off here?" "Along 1970 DARE Tape Mil 12, There are some flowers around, abouts"." here and there and abouts. about to die S Midi

adj

phr Also

~ kick the bucket, ~ pass

seriously or suddenly

chiefly Sth,

An

expression in constant use, of 1902 DA' 2.227 sIL, About 2.304 seMO, About to persons taken suddenly or violently ill. 1903 3.1 14 sIN. 1907 "He was about to die vesterday." 1906 die

DN

.

DN

.

DN 3.228

ZXY1285 eAL, wGA. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. BB42, If a person is very sick you say he's) 13 Infs, Sth, S Midi, SW, About to die; Inf OK7, About to kick the

bucket:

.

nwAR.

1908

VA69, About

to pass.

DARE (Qu.

1966

R17) Inf SC9 [Gullah

speaker],

Abram

['ebrem].

abreast (of) prep (phr) [Transf from naut use] Across from; opposite to. [1857 973) Perry Amer. in Japan 356, The Island of Oho-sima, about two miles distant abreast the ships.] 1931-33 L4.XE Worksheets seMA, Nantucket is right abreast of Chatham. 1968 DARE (Qu. MM1. "Opposite to" "The shed is the barn") Inf IN35, ( 1

.

.

.

.

abri n

[Fr abri shelter]

|a'bri|

—

DARE FW

Addit seLA, Abri wooden protector for the north the first weeks after planting. Consists of two one-by-eights joined at right angles [and set on edge]. In [the local] French this noun is feminine ... In English its construction is regular,

1968

side of

cucumber

hills in

[.a'briz].

abroad adv 1 Out: awav from one's home but abroad 3 —1859] ?old-fash

in the

community. [OED

1940 Hench Coll. cVA, A questioner was asked if so-and-so were at home. "No," was the reply. "He's abroad.'" Further questioning showed was away from home for the day. 1944 PADS 2.38 that the person sVA, Abroad "Finny isn't at home just now: she's gone abroad." Rare. 1963 Edwards Gravel 175 eTN (as of 1920s), "He wuzent at home." said his neighbor: "I don't know where he wuz." "Jist as I thought," said Uncle Eph; "they usually catch it abroad." 1969 .

.

.

.

above one's bend adv phr Also above one's huckleberry [OED bent sb. 2 9] esp Sth, West obs Cf huckleberry above one's persimmon Beyond one's

I'ebraml

large black stinging ant (prob Myrmicinae).

including plural

ill.

to die.

.

.

Abreast.

About, near.

Taken

.

it.

about house

Of

allusion to Gen 21:33] 1959 Western Folkl. 18.49 IL, Abraham's tree A cloud form, consisting of an assemblage of long feathers and plumes of cirrus clouds, which seem to radiate from a single point on the horizon.

Abraham's tree n [Perh an

.

.

.

.

.

DARE (Qu. U

1

When vou 're going to a store

.

.

.

")

"I'm going

Inf NY205, Abroad.

.

.

Seequot 1905. 1905 D.X 3.68 nwAR, Abroad ... At or to a distance of approximately fifty miles or more. 'Mr. Jones has returned from his trip abroad" Common in the newspapers. cl940 in 1944 ADD FL. 2

abilities.

1835 Crockett Account 44 TN, I shall not attempt to describe the 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americancuriosities here; it is above my bend. A common expression in the Western States. isms, Above one's bend Above one's huckleberry is a vulgarism of the same signification. 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 577. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West. .

above snakes adj phr Above the ground; tall.

abroad n [abroad adv]

A trip 1938

or

in 1941

visit to

1855 Stuart -Wortley Travels U.S. 154 NY, Look at those two tall Kentuckians, with their tufted chins, somewhere about seven feet "above snakes." 1877 Bartlett Americanisms. Above Snakes, Exaggerated cant for "from the ground," or more than above the ground. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West.

See also broad n

visit.

AmSp

another

swIN, Abroad. Used as a noun for a trip or Brown's back from her abroad.'

16.21

locality.

see Mrs.

'I

SW

abrojo n

Any

of var related chaparral shrubs, esp lotebush and squawbush (here: Condalia globosa).

of western 1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101.1 14, Texas jujube is Texas, locally known as abrojo. lote-bush, and Texas buckthorn, often of value in preventing erosion. 1941 Jaeger Wildflowers 138 Parry Desert SW, Gray-leaved Abrojo. Condalia lycioides canescens Abrojo. Condalia Parryi Spiny Abrojo. Condalia spathulata. 1960 .

.

.

abowoot See about abra n [Span] SW, esp TX A narrow pass or defile; a valley. 1892 D\ .243 TX, Abra: a narrow pass between mountains; in Texas, or in a range of hills. 1912 more specifically, a break in a mesa Lumholtz New Trails 7 sAZ, The intervening valleys, or abras, as the Mexicans call them, are rather flat. 1933 AmSp 8.3.9 SW, The open spaces between very old, worn-down mountains, which have filled in flat with detritus, are called abras (openings). 1977 Watts Diet. Old West. 1

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

SW

Vines Trees Vernacular names are 695. Condalia obtusifolia Texas Buckthorn and abrojo. Ibid 696, Condalia spathulata ... It is known under the vernacular names of Squaw-bush, Chamis, Abrojo. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

bowels n (Cf DS BB49 and the once common inflammation of the bowels in the same sense) old-fash el 960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Abscess of the bowels, older name for

abscess

of the

appendicitis.

Abraham n

=Adam 1. 1968 DARE (Qu.

abscess 1126,

.

"/ wouldn't

know him from

")Inf

Abraham

Lincoln n Also Abe, Abe's picture, picture of Abe portrait on the bill] chiefly Sth, Midi freq among Black speakers

[From the

(here:

Polemonium

reptans).

1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 125 ceNY, Abscess. Polemonium reptans. Greek Valerian. Blue Bells. Jacob's Ladder. Serviceable in pleurisy, fevers, and inflammatory diseases. 1931 Clute Common Plants 1 22, A number of the ancient plant names recall afflictions w hich have happily gone quite out of style abscess root (Polemonium

1873

IN35. Abraham.

A

(root) n =Jacob's ladder in

.

.

.

rep tansj.

five-dollar

bill.

1965-70 DARE(Q\x. U28a, A five-dollar bill) Infs DC4, 12, GA92, IL21, KY80, Abraham Lincoln: AL8, MS6. 88, Abe; AR32. Abe's picture; MI76, Picture of Abe. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 6% .

were Black; of the 10

abscond v

.

Infs giving this response, 4

were Black.]

Foil

by a

tr

[OED abscond 2,-1721]

arch

reflexive pron: to hide or conceal.

1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 60, Abscond ... "I immediately absconded myself."

absentmind

accommodation

/

street

tabsentmind adj Absentminded. 1961 mind.

DARE (Qu. JJ30a,

.

.

Forgetting something) Inf TNI, I'm absent-

A

absolute auction n KY An auction of property in which the highest bid must be accepted. See quot 1976. 1966 Cynthiana Democrat (KY) 5 May 1.8/1 [Advt], Absolute Auction at Lebus Tobacco Whse. No. 1. Ibid 9 June 8/1 [Advt], 6 Room House Full Basement Absolute Auction ... to settle the estate of the late W.T. Ecklar we have been authorized to sell his house and lot. 1 976 DAREF\\e neKY, An absolute auction means just that: If you bid highest Kentucky staton that particular property, it will be yours. This has been in existence for at least 100 years. The owner and ute auctioneer can be sued and be made to deliver the deed to the property.

—

.

.

.

+ toot (as in you're darn

absotoot(e)ly adv [Blend of absolutely

humorous

1955 NY Times (NY) 25

May 36/ TN [Quoting a film actor's rendition 1

of Davy Crockett], There's jest about nuthin' so absotootely onresistible Very as an old-fashioned, good-natured grin. 1968Z).4/?E(Qu. JJ21, positive: Somebody asks you "Are you really going to do that?" And you answer) Inf WI47, Absotootly. .

.

absquatulate v Also obsquatulate, obsquotulate [Fanciful pseudo-Lat formation] See DA for addit varr and deriv forms; for addit quots see also 1912 Thornton Amer. Gloss, formerly

now

old-fash; joe

Intr senses.

Of

1

.

.

—

better

b

")

Of things:

1842

1

Inf.

cwVVI, Absquatulate

to part, separate,

fall

— old-fashioned. [Old

Inf.]

away.

of the Times 29 June (DA),

When

Mr. F. again called, the 1858 Advocate (Salem IL) 17 Feb 1/2 (DA), She might give him a kiss. Ah, and a good one, too not one of the touches that wouldn't make a dew drop absquatulate from a rose leaf. Spirit

shingle had absquatulated from the shutter. .

.

—

2 To squabble. 1976 Harper's Weekly 65.18 Midwest, We always thought it was a perfectly legitimate word everybody in the Midwest used it and understood it When one of my colleagues here in the effete East [Irvington NJ] was making a big fuss over nothing, and I innocently asked, "What are you obsquatulating about?" I started a real linguistic hassle. Nobody had ever heard the word.

—

.

.

.

.

.

B Tr sense. To send away,

to dismiss.

—

;absquinchiated ppl adj [Fanciful creation on pattern of absquatulate]

are

terms of respectful address: abuji

.

.

Aby See Abie ac' See act

acadami(z)ed See macadamize

Acadian owl n Also ~ night ~ esp NEng =saw-whet owl. 1839 Audubon Synopsis Birds 24, Ulula Acadica, Acadian NightSaw-whet. 1872 Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 206, Acadian Owl .

.

.

Usu

.

.

Owl. Saw-whet Owl. 1939 LANE Map 230, Inf, seCT, [a'kedjan mil] = barn owl. very small. 1966 DARE (Qu. Q 1 ) Inf ME8, Acadian owl or saw-whet. 1

acause conj

|3'koz|

[Cf EDD, with exx chiefly from nEngl]

1871 (1882) Stowe Fireside Stories 245 NEng, These 'ere ungodly the laugh on him, and all acause o' that 'are hoss. 1922 Rollins Cowboy 1 9 West, I've warmed up this bit, acause I'm riding the finest little cow horse this State has ever seen. 1950 PADS 1 3.22 sKY, fellers gettin'

1

Heard occasionally among uneducated Acause [a'koz] did you do that?" "Jist acause" .

.

.

|aeb's3>-d,

3b-,-z;r-d|; occas laeb's^b, aeb'z3>-b|

Std senses, var forms. 1937 AmSp 12.126 Upstate NY, Absurd occasionally ends

.

.

"Why

accident n

An

unexpected turn of events.

DN 5.199 swMO,

accommodation

~

A

train, etc

'Ithout a accident

n, freq attrib, as in

hit'll

rain ag'in mornin'.

accommodation car,

~ stage,

old-fash

public vehicle, esp a train, which stops at every station to its passengers.

accommodate

a A train. 1838 Boston Almanac 49 (DA), Depots on the Providence Rail Road. Accommodation Train. 1911 Southern Reporter 55 .595 MS, A "mixed or accommodation train" is a train equipped and having the appliances and facilities for the carriage of passengers as well as freight. 1950 WELS (A train that stops at every station) 1 Inf, cWI, Accommodation train. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Accommodation ... A local train, one that stops at every station or flag stop; now practically unknown. 1963 Haywood Yankee Diet. NEng, Accommodation The train that made every station on the line, dropping off mail for each village post office, taking aboard the outgoing pouch and unloading from the express car Branch railroad) Inf 1965-70 DARE (Qu. N37, various items.

—

1

.

.

—

IN 13, Accommodation ['kom3,des3n] because it stopped everyplace; ran from Woodville to New Orleans and LA3, The accommodation stops at any stop it comes back in one day; PA235, Accommodation to and anything in between; (Qu. N36) Inf FL17, Accommodation train used to come through here. [All Infs are old.] 1977 Adams Lang. Railroader, Accommodation train. b Any other vehicle which stops at the passengers' convenience. 1811 Columbian Centinel. MA Federalist (Boston MA) 25 Sep 3/ The on the Trenton Turnpike Road. Accommodation Stage Will run Leaves Boston every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 1829 Royall intended to take the Accommodation in the Pennsylvania 2.9 (DA), I morning. 1892 Harper's Mag. 84.426/1 Chicago IL, What may be called accommodation cars [of an elevator] halt at the lower floors. 1907 St. Nicholas May 669/1 PA, When the miners go down into the

—

—

—

1

.

,

.

.

DN

4.55 mines, they get into a car called the accommodation. 1913 seMA, Accommodation ... A horse-drawn public conveyance travelling over a fixed route, stopping on signal to take or leave passen.

.

.

"Shall

we walk up-along, or take

the

accommodation?" 1937

FWP Guide MA 330 seMA, The Boston steamers whistle a last farewell, the 'accommodation' (street bus) is converted back into a fish truck and Provincetown settles down again to a 'nice quiet winter.' .

accommodation

A street in [b],

.

accaount See account

.

adj

'father.'

abvertize See advertise

gers

up, finished.

1967 DARE (Qu. LL17, Ways of saying there's no more of something: ") Inf ID5, Absquinchiated [3b'skwmsi,et3d]. "The potatoes are

absurd

HI

n [Korean]

.

1887 Fargo Argus (ND) 1 Jan, It is rumored that the present grand jury is to be absquatulated and another called.

Used

[b] 14.

father.

1923

persons or animals: to leave, depart, esp hastily or furtively; to abscond. Fig, to die. 1830 Telegraph (Painesville OH) 5 June 1/5 (DA), Obsquatulate— To mosey, to abscond. 1834 Life Andrew Jackson 36 TN, By golly, if you obsquotulate, you are ded before you can say Jack Robinson. 1851 (1969) Burke Polly Peablossom 184 IL, I'm done— I'll absquatulate. 1853 Bird Nick of Woods 69 KY, "Your horse has absquatulated!" "Absquatulated!" echoed Forrester, amazed as much at the word as at the fierce visage of his friend, "what is that? Is the horse hurt?" "Stolen away, sir, by the etarnal Old Scratch!" 1873 Perrie Buckskin 18 eWI, The vagabond had "absquatulated" with the whole of the joint-stock funds. 1950 WELS (To leave in a hurry: "Before they find this out, we'd la

188 [responses],

Because.

Absolutely.

widespread,

final [d]

AmSp

1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 109 HI, Among loanwords of wide circulation

1899 (1909) Earle Child Life 124, The hornbook was called by other names, horn-gig, horn-bat, battledore-book, absey-book, etc.

A

—

show abuji

toot in)]

1942

lukan spaenjal pApi].

absey book n [absey obs form of ABC (OED)] obs A hornbook or primer.

.

1940 AmSp 15.85 neTN, [an abz3rb 17.156 seNY, In absurd the records

apparently by remote assimilation.

street n ?obs

of small shops and businesses conveniently catering to

local residences.

— accordion

opened 1899 (1977) Morris McTeague 2 San Francisco CA, He had "Dental Parlors" on Polk Street, an "accommodation street" of small shops in the residence quarter of the town. .

.

his

accordion n Cf buck v 2

1

Among

loggers: see quot. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific

NW Accordion — A bucked log

acid anemia

/

we became ace boon coons. K.B. was the first cat I locked withupatWiltwyck. 1970 DARE(Qu. III. A closefriend) Ms hi AX. 52, KY94, MS88, NY241, SC69, Ace-boon-coon; SC68, Boon-coon;

a year before

.

.

(Qu. 113) Inf DC1 1, Ace-spoon-coon. [All Infs Black] 1971 Roberts Third Ear. 1980 Folb Rimnin' Down 35 [Black], One of the closest levels of friendship is reflected in a term like ace and its variants ace coon, ace boon coon, ace coon poon, ace boom boom, a. be.

with a series of shallow shelves across the end, caused by poor bucking.

account n Usu

espSth, Midi |(3)'k£eunt|; ineVA, See Prone Intro 3. II. 14 Pronc-spp accaount,

|3'kaunt|; also,

occas |3'kaunt|

A

Forms. 1861 Holmes Venner 2.299 wMA, Here is your accaount, Miss Darfor account: used by a white ley. 1916 .DA' 4. 344 NE, 'Count [ksunt] boy. 1927 Shewmake Engl. Prone. VA 24 eVA, On the Virginia penin.

.

1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 45 eTN, wNC, The following words almost always have About, account. [asu] sula [some speakers] regularly [say [a'kaunt].]

B

.

An

Value, use. [From the std phr of no account of no value] ?old-fash See also no-account adj 1850 Garrard Wah-to-yah 2 OH, Your money's no account. 1852 Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 1.185 KY, "Then it's no account talking." said the woman. 1878 Beadle Western Wilds 1 87 UT, Little Si Duvall, a splintery feller with no legs to speak of, and every body said no account. only sucked his 1899 Garland Boy Life 15 nwIA, But Mr. Jennings pipe and said, "They're no account, I guess, on account of the stagnant water." 1940 Richter Trees 32 OH, But now that he greased it with bear's oil, he reckoned it might be of some account. 1970 DARE FW Addit neKY, "Was it any count?" That is, any good. Common. .

.

tant.

DARE

On

account

of;

.

.

acequia n Usu, as

SW

An

Inf

Span

in

also la'sik.wia, 3,se'kwi3|

la'sekjal,

Also called sequia, zanja

irrigation ditch.

Hence acequia madre mother

ditch; ace-

charge of acequias. 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 285 SW, I followed up the acequia that led from the spring a ditch four or five feet wide, through which flowed

quiador local

official in

—

a stream three or four feet in depth. Ibid 107, One acequia madre (mother ditch) suffices generally to convey water for the irrigation of an

1948 Western Folkl. 7.3 sCA, Persons throwing matter into the canals or Acequias of the city .. shall 'be fined. 1892 1.186 TX, I have heard.. pronounced acequia (the normal pronunciation), acequia, or acequia even assay-kwia. Ibid 243, Acequiador: The officer in charge of the in a community, who, between planting time and harvest. acequias ranks everybody, even the alcalde. 1932 D 6.223 NM. 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms, Acequia (Spanish, a:se:ki:a:; English, the same and also a se: kwia) A canal or ditch for irrigation purposes or for the water supply of [a] pueblo or village. 1940 Fergusson Our Southwest 278 NM, They have saved its acequias running clear mountain water, its trees, and a respect for its Spanish-speaking folk. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX 41, Main irrigation ditch ... An older term, acequia recalling the days of gravity irrigation, is still in occasional use, chiefly in Southwest Texas. 1966 DARE (Qu. C 1 A small stream of water) Inf entire valley.

1860

or any

earth

in

filthy

.

.

DN

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

acetonemia n For varr

—

.

.

.

.

NM6,

Acequia

[a'seikja]

—

,

.

.

,

.

irrigation ditch.

.

Pronc-sp

la'kjumjsletl; occas |(3)'kjum3 let| 1

accumalate

see quot; folk-etym acid

anemia

Std sense, var forms.

Std senses, var forms. 1936 AmSp 11.159 eTX, In another group, the medial u is pronounced both [ja] and [a], the latter sound being especially characteristic of less may literate speech: accumulate. Ibid 310 Upstate NY, Accumulate occasionally be heard as [a'kjumalet]. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 67 wNC, eTN, Accumulate ['kjumalet]. 1942 New Yorker 1 1 July 20/3 sCA, Me stuck with all the restront bills the two accumalated. .

.

See alchemy

DARE (Qu. K28, The chief diseases that cows have around CT9, Azetonemia: Mil 16, Astinemia; MA66, Acid anemia; Acigenema; PA 163, Acetomenia; PA 193, Estimenia

1968-70 here) Inf

OH81,

[esta'minia]

achemy

— cow quits

eating.

See alchemy

achies See aikie(s) achins exclam

[From ace any person outstandingly good "US. Slang")] among Black speakers See

also ace-boon-coon

=aikie(s).

1940 Qrly. Jrl. Speech 26.266 VA, What children in the North call "dibs [eikanz] on it," meaning / claim a share, Virginia children may call on it or [eicanz]. .

A

very close friend. 1958 Hughes- Bontemps Negro Folkl. 481 NYC [Glossary of Harlem Jive], Ace: Bosom friend. He's my ace boy. 1970 Bullins Electronic 85 sCA [Black], What could she gain by messin' 'round on me with my ace buddy? 1970 Knight Black Voices 78 IN, You know me, baby ... I am One's best your ace man. 1970 Major Afro-Amer. Slang, Ace A close friend; a first-rate person; one's lover. 1970 DARE (Qu. Ill, ") Infs FL52, M029, NC84, Ace; SC68, "He's my friend. Ace-buddy; (Qu. 113, Very friendly) Inf DC11, My ace. [All Infs Black] 1971 Roberts Third Ear. .

.

.

.

.

ach

.

.

(ja) adv, intj

Ger settlement areas See

Also ach yes [Ger]

also ach ja n

Oh

yes!

Yes indeed! (Qu. NN1, Other words

DARE

1968

.

1973 Allen

['akja].

LAUM

1

.387,

1

like 'yes) Inf

Inf,

MN37, Ach

neNE, Ach, ach

ja

yes.

.

.

.

ach

A

ja

n

|'ak ja|

[Ger,

lit

"oh

yes!",

phr used in song and game]

children's ring game: see quot 1940.

Partners join adjacent 1940 Handy Play Party Book 1 14, Ach Ja hands They walk to the right around the circle four slow steps; partners then face each other, release hands and bow very simply by bending at the hips, on "Ja," then turn back to back and bow again on "Ja." .. Repeat from the beginning. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. EE33) Inf NY123, Ach ja children pair up and dance in a circle; PA242, Ach ja ['akja] song and moving around, bow and say, "Ach ja." .

ace adv See yes

.

ace-boon-coon n For varr see quots [ace first rate, infl by ace n + boon good or intimate, as boon companion + coon n 2] among Black speakers Cf ace-coon 1

A

appear impor-

to

Inf VA71, Ace-coon.

[laughter].

accumulate v Usu

.

(OEDS 1919—

")

.

.

PA202, Ace-over-apex

ace-spoon-coon See ace-boon-coon

«

n, freq attrib

speakers

ace-over-apex adv phr Var of ass-over-teakettle euphem ") "He slipped and came down 1969 DARE (Qu. X35,

accoutrements n pi [EDD 1880, from wCornwall; cf DJE kruchument accoutrement) in same sense] Cf clatterment Inconsequential things 1944 PADS 2.38 NC, Accoutrements that collect in one's household. Used by a man and odds and ends his sister, who originally came from sw. Va. Very rare.

ace

tries

aroundhere.

.

tall.

accumy

among Black

2]

N

because.

1938 Rawlings Yearling 3 1 FL, He ain't full weight right now, account of his stomach bein' shrunk up. 1942 Horizon (London) 6.62 Sth, Fred's five foot ten but I tell him he's till [sic] a shrimp, account of I'm so

1

HH17, A person who

(Qu.

"He'd like to be the

.

.

account of conj phr

coon n

important person; a big shot.

1970

[Span]

Sense.

+

rate

first

See ace-boon-coon.

1

2

'count

.

ace-coon n [ace

very close friend. 1962 Crump Burn 200 Chicago IL [Black], We're ace-boon-coons, remember? 1965 Brown Manchild 11 NYC [Black], I knew K.B. about

.

—

.

—

acid anemia See acetonemia

.

.

1

acid

bumps

acid

bumps n

across

/

pi

lot(s)

acorn duck n [From

Also acid rash

1966-67 Z)AR£(Qu.BB25,

bumps fish

its

feeding

on acorns]

=wood

Hives.

—

Common skin diseases) InfSC39, Acid

•

•

FL25, Heat

allergy to tomatoes, oranges, etc;

rash, acid rash,

poisoning.

acigenema See acetonemia acion n [Span]

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

SW

Stirrup leather: the strap suspending a stirrup.

1944 Adams Western Words 3, Acion Stirrup leather. A Spanish term sometimes used on the southern border and in California. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 1 12. 1977 Watts Did. Old West. .

.

.

acorn tree n An oak tree.

[EDD

188

1

.

—]

1954 Roberts / Bought Dog 19 seKY, A acorn had fallen in the horse's back and made a acorn tree. 1967 DARE (QR near Qu. 143) Inf C08, Acorn tree oak tree [conv]. 1975 Newell IfNothin Don '[Happen 1 59 FL, Mr. Jenkins lookin' as pleased as a blind hog findin' an acorn

—

aciteria, acituria See azoturia

ack v See

duck. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 34, Wood Duck ... At Pocomoke City Maryland, and in the vicinity of Charleston, S.C., Acorn Duck. 1888 (1890) Warren Birds PA 40. 1932 Bennitt Check-list 19 MO. 1955 Forbush-May Birds 70, Wood Duck Summer Duck; Wood Widgeon; Acorn Duck. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. Q5, Kinds of wild ducks) Inf AL31, Summer or acorn duck; MS87, Acorn ['ekan] ducks.

.

act

.

,

tree.

ack n Also ackey [Perh var of Ikey] derog Cf Itie

An

acquaint v

Italian.

1941

LANE Map 453 ([An] Italian) 2 Infs, cMA, Ack, Ackey [aek, aeki].

ackempucky n [Prob Algonkian; perh

rel

to *achpunk?siin to

place on hot ashes, bake, roast. This does not, however, agree with 's definitions. The unidentified quots were apparently

ADD

WV

Wentworth's observations.] a Any food mixture of unknown 1944 ADD, Ackempucky .

.

.

dients. c.1928 w.cent.W.Va. Charleston,

ency, as gelatine. 1943

n.

b

A

ingre-

food of jellylike consist-

W. Va. Monongalia Co.

EDD

fortis,

ackie

fortis See aggie forti(e)s

—'1555,

"obs.

"]

SC, GA coasts Gullah Knowledge, understanding.

—

ing.

acknowledge the corn v phr Also

~ own

~; acknowledge the coin, ~malt [acknowledge admit + corn corn liquor {DA corn 2, 1820 ); see AmSp 51.102-08] Addit quots and varr in 1912 Thornton Amer. Gloss, formerly widespread, now chiefly Midi old-fash, joe confess

—

Orig, to admit to being drunk;

by

foil by with: to become acquainted. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. II2a, When two people begin

to be friendly: "He has just recently with John. ") Infs AR5 CA 1 5 A, DC8, NY73, 92, Acquainted; NY200, Socialized, became social, acquainted; WI47, Acquainted, started going around. 1 ,

acquainted ppl adj [OED acquainted 4, "obs."] Made familiar by experience with; knowledgeable about.

DARE

Tape MA92,

Stevensville, if you're acquainted

up

that

acquaintun ppl adj Also aphet quaintun [Perh back-formation from acquaintance or acquainting] SC, GA coasts Gullah

.

.

and passed the remainder of the night at home with his guests. 1865 Derby Squibob 171, Amos acknowledged the malt by a cheerful guffaw. 1908 DN 3.285 eAL, wGA, Acknowledge the corn Sometimes acknowledge the coin is heard. 1923 ZW5.199 swMO. 1927 AmSp 2.347 WV. 1936 AmSp 11.316 Ozarks, Own the corn. 1940 in 944 ADD nWV. Caesar a dollar to pay for the information,

.

1888 Jones Negro Myths 63 GA Coast, Wid dem people wuh no quaintun wid um eh pass ehself off fuh er fus-class cook. Ibid 69, Eh mek um quaintun bout wen de Ring tuk, an who eh tink tief um. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 79 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], He is berry well acquaintun wid uh sutt'n annimel dat eenhabit de jungle. a-credit See a prep

3

1

acre-foot adj Cf forty acres and

DS X38

Big-footed.

1908

DN 3.285 eAL, wGA, Acre-foot

.

.

.

"Look

at that acre-foot nig-

ger." Rare.

across prep HI

1839 Times- Picayune (New Orleans LA) 5 Apr 2/3 (AmSp 51.107) VA, We "acknowledge the corn." The people there [=in Mississippi] do not drink one-tenth part of what they do in this state. 1842 Spirit of the Times 16 Mar (in 1912 Thornton Amer. Gloss.), Your honor, I confess the corn. I was royally drunk. 1861 Harper's Mag. 23.280/2 AR, Sure enough it was his own house ... He 'owned the corn,' flung

Opposite; across from. 1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 120 HI, "I sat across you at church las' Certain Sunday." "Meet me at the bus stop across the library." pairs of expressions cause problems in Hawaii, and one of the most typical is the pair across and across from. .

.

.

.

.

.

across-lot adj [across lot(s) adv phr

1]

?nonce

lit

use

Direct; efficient.

1867 Lowell Biglow 100 "Upcountry" MA, Their mission-work with up / To all the mos' across-lot ways o' preachin'

Afrikins hez put 'em

.

.

.

1

Prone var of acne 1966-69 Z>AR£(Qu.X59, Small infected pimples thatform, usually on the face) Infs FL19, NJ59, NC30, PA 195, 197, Acme ['aekmi]. |'aekmi|

.

"archaic";

admit to any mistake,

ext, to

or impropriety.

acme n

W3

Acquainted.

1922 Gonzales Black Border 28 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], Him hab uh sonny-law wuh hab uh berry good ecknowledge fuh git money out'uh buckruh'; Ibid 42, Uh got uh ecknowledge fuh look t'ru 'e face; Ibid 299 [Gullah glossary], Ecknowledge knowledge, ability, understand-

.

";

way.

acknowledge n Pronc-sp ecknowledge [OED

fault,

"obs.

1818—]

Usu

1965

acker

[OED acquaint 2 —-1774

intr

.

acorn calf n [From the belief that the calf's condition is the result of an excess of acorns in the mother's prenatal diet] chiefly West Also called deacon A congenitally weak calf; a runt. Also transf to other animals and humans. 1929 AmSp 5.16 Ozarks, Acorn calf A poor specimen, a runt, a weakling. Refers to human beings as well as to cattle, swine and other animals. 1 934 Weseen Diet. Amer. Slang 92 West, Acorn calf A runt; a weakling. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 155 West, A poor, runty, and weak calf was called an "acorn calf." 1977 Watts Diet. Old West. .

.

.

—

acorn-cracker n Cf corncracker

1

and

A countrified person. 1905 DN 3.68 nwAR, Acorn ['ekn]-cracker

DS HH .

.

.

Uncouth countryman.

'Country jakes are sometimes called acorn-crackers.' Rare.

an' convartin.

across 1

By

lot(s)

adv phr See also cross-lot(s) adv

the shortest route: directly,

chiefly

NEng

and settlement

area 1858 (1894) Lowell Biglow 28 "Upcountry"

MA, Joe looked roun'/ 1881 Pierson In the Brush 30 KY, On their way to the graveyard they climbed the fences and went across-lots by a shorter route, leaving the hearse to go around the road. 1905 3.2 cCT. 1907 3.208 nwAR. 1908 Lincoln Cy Whittaker 396 NEng, He went across lots, in the rear of the barns and orchards, wading through drifts and climbing fences. 1947 Chalfant Gold 74 wNV, Palmer, Dexter, and one more man, each with Springfield rifle and fixed bayonet, went across lots to the bar of the Exchange Hotel. 1957 Beck Folkl. 75, The old man arose, took his lunch and strolled "across lots" as they say in Maine, following the landmarks of his dream. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. 1 6, Ifyou 're walking with somebody "It'll be to the other corner of a square, and you want to save steps, And see (acrost lots in

a

DN

pond

.

.

)/

A goose.

DN

ME

MM

.

.

3,

RI 1 5, Go (or

2 in phr go (or send) to hell (or the devil) across lots:

Go straight

shorter if we cut) across lots;

to hell,

")

MAM,

chiefly

UT

Infs

CT9, LA40, MA29, NH5,

Went

1

across-lot this way.

across-the-track

854 Jrl. ofDiscourses .83 UT, I [=Brigham Young] dreamed one of their throats from ear to ear, saying, "Go to hell across lots." 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 3, 1 swore in Nauvoo, when my enemies were looking me in the face, that I would send them to Speech ofBrigham Young, hell across lots if they meddled with me. 1857. 1862 Winthrop John Brent 195 UT, You may go to the devil across lots, on that runt pony of yourn, with your new friends, for all I care. 1959 Robertson Ram 244 sID (as of 1875), As for me, if I didn't have some place to put my money I would go to hell across lots. 1853

that

in

1

1

... cut

I

—

across-the-track adj [Attrib use of across the tracks adv phr, Cf DS 1125 where poor people live (DA track, 1929 )]

—

4 also act out: To pretend. ?Midl 1966-70D.4/?£(Qu.JJ46, Pretend: 'Let's. we don't know a thing about it. ") Infs M09, 15, NC33, OH84, TN53, TX62, Act: KY90, Act out

Active, capable of lively activity.

1966

Across.

1759 in 1882 Essex Inst. Coll. 19.145, Ye Enemy fird at our men a Crost Hist. Soc. Proc. 2d ser 2.467 MA, The 1779 in 1886 Lake is about 8 miles acrost. 1852 Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 2.60 OH, A good, round, school-boy hand, that Tom said might be read "most acrost the room." 1891 DN 1.165 cNY, [a'krost]. 1892 DN 1.237 wMO, MI, NEng. 1905 DN 3.102 nwAR. 1907 DN 3.240 eME. 1908 DN 3.285 eAL, wGA, (A)crost. 1915 DN 4.178 swVA, (A)crost. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 47 FL, The old Spanish trail clear acrost Floridy. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. "It'll be shorter if we 16, ") 17 Infs, Cut (go, walk, etc) acrost; (Qu. MM15, "He ") Infs Mil 17. M04, Acrost; (Qu. nailed the board on the gas station.") Infs CT22, "The drugstore is 14, .

MA

.

.

.

MM

.

.

.

MM

.

MA56,

MM1,

.

.

NY234,

(Diagonally,

.

.

Usu

act v

A

|aekt|,

.

.

also freq

.

Pronc-spp ac\ ack

|aek|

Senses.

A smart-aleck.

1908

personate,

DN 3.285 eAL, v,GA, Act the nigger

"I don't perpose to act the nigger

wNC,

Act the fool ... used in some sections.

To

.

.

.

Do menial work, drudge.

1937 Hall Coll. eTN, very much to play the clown

no longer."

act foolish;

.

1954 Harder

Coll.

cwTN, He's

.

actin' the fool.

6, TX, Then he'd had to go act a fool and get 1966-70 DARE(Qu.AA&, When people make too much

1956 Gipson Old Yeller himselfkilled.

ofa show ofaffect ion in a public place) Infs LA 1 6, NC4 1 Acting a (or the) fool; (Qu. BB27, When somebody pretends to be sick) Inf PA142, Actin' the possum; (Qu. DD14, When a person is partly drunk) Inf LA11, party: "They cerActing a fool; (Qu. FF18, Noisy or boisterous tainly last night. ") Inf TX104A, Acted the fool; (Qu. GG32a, ")InfsNM9, OH65, To habitually play tricks "He's always Acting a (or the) fool; IL143, Acting the monkey; (Qu. LL4) Inf NC41, Addit LA6, Acting a He acted the hog. [All Infs old] 1967 DARE rascal being mischievous. Common. ,

.

.

.

.

.

.

FW

—

2 also act out:

To misbehave,

1903 DA' 2.295 Cape Cod 1913 DN 4.3 seME, Act out.

act up.

MA (as of

Cf act

off

To misbehave. misbehave, of children in school.

To

1850s), Act

.

.

.

3 To perform gymnastic feats, esp on an acting pole. To perform on a horizontal bar; to 1950 PADS 14.1 SC, Act Used perform on any gymnastic paraphernalia, as parallel bars before the days of gymnasiums. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, "Little This usage is virtually unknown Jimmy shore kin act on the poles." 1

.

.

.

.

.

among

DARE

[cultured speakers].

.

(Qu. II36a,

.

.

Somebody who

talks

back or gives rude

MA 127, Act-ass ['ak^es].

actchelly See actual(ly)

acting pole n Also acting bar, action bar

See also act B3

A

horizontal pole used for performing gymnastic feats. 1950 PADS 14.1 1 SC, Acting pole ... An improvised horizontal bar. such as was formerly put up by school boys, and on which they acted during recess. Also called acting bar, action bar. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Acting pole ... A pole put between two trees or posts and used for boys to perform on. "He can hang by his toes on the acting pole." Not widely used as a term.

See actual(ly)

act'lly

act off v phr [Cf act

B

2

common

and

To behave in an unruly or 1946 PADS 6.4 eSC,Actoff.

act up]

capricious manner.

To cut up, to act silly before company. Said of children. "You decided to try to act off." 1950 WELS (When children or young people are full of mischief or tricks: "They're always ")

1

.

.

swWI, Acting off. 1968

Inf.

"You're acting

DARE (QR p282) Inf GA45,

ofF' (acting strange).

B

act out See act

2,

4

actual adv Actually.

1940-44 in 1944 ADD AR, We don't him ... He don't actual do it. Radio.

Usu

actual

|'aeks3l(i), 'aekc3l(i)|,

know much about

also

Pronc-

|aektl(i)|

act'lly

Std senses, var forms. 1867 Lowell Biglow (ADD), Act'lly. 1887 Scribner's Mag. 2.478 AR, Actchelly, Jeff, my bones is wearin' out waitin' ter dance at yo' weddin'! 1891 DN 1 1 66 cNY, [t] is also common in words pronounced with [c] by educated people [sektl] < actual. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 95 wNC, eTN, Actual ['aekcal]. 1940-44 in 1944 ADD AR, Ac.

.

tual

[OED act 7, assume the character of. 1651 —»] (note that the noun complement is usu sg regardless of the subject of the verb) chiefly Sth, Midi old-fash To

very lively, active old person: "For his age,

act-ass n Cf act off

spp actchelly,

1894 in 1941 Warfel - Orians Local-Color Stories 111 sAR [Black], I gwine ac' in dis heah trouble. 1899 Garland Prairie Folks 95 IA, What makes ma ac' so? 1923 DN 5.21 1 swMO, He ac's mighty ill. 1927 Kennedy Gritny 56 sLA [Black], Go set down an' ack like people. 1940 Sat. Eve. Post 20 July 55/1 GA [Black], They ack that way. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Act [aek].

1

KK27, A

Inf SC10, Actable ['aektabal].

actual(ly) adj, adv

Forms.

How

B

")

(Qu.

(from);

acrost

directly)

"The shed is the barn. ") Infs IA23, NJ28. NY219, 234, OH45, PA122, Acrost (from); (Qu. 1117) Infs IL44, NY27, WA20, Came (ran, run) acrost; (Qu. U18) Infs NM8, NY96, 219, Come acrost; (Qu. X50) Inf WI47, Five ax-handles acrost; (Qu. MM5) Inf WI27, Acrost. [Of 29 Infs, 25 have less than college educ] 1968 DARE FW Addit NY75, Acrost [a'krast]. 1976 Allen LAUM 3.301, After /s/ four infs. add the /t/ to once and thirty to across as /akrost/. .

DARE (Qu.

he's

answers) Inf

Across-the-track people.

acrost adv, prep |3'krDst| [across + excrescent t: see Prone Intro 3.1.23] throughout US esp among speakers with less than coll educ See also crost adv, prep Addit quots in 1944 ADD

ye River.

like.

jactable adj

1970

DARE (Qu. HH18) Inf SC45,

.

.

Indigent; low-grade.

1967

Adam

/

.

.

.

.

.

Radio.

['aksal].

Adam

n [Adam the first man, the archetypal man] Adams: A person one does not know usu emphatic. widespread Also called Abraham, Adam's apple 2, Adam's

—

also

1

housecat,

Adam's

off-ox

1,

Eve

787 (1841) Smith Jrl. & Corresp. 1 1 40, In a country [=France] where 1 am not known from Adam without the s alias the husband of Eve. 1844 Stephens High Life in NY 1. 191, He don't know me from Adam. 1938 Farrell No Star 241 Chicago IL (as of 1914- 15). Walk by him as if you didn't know him from Adam. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 1126, Joking ways of saying that you would not know who somebody is: "I ") 649 Infs. throughout US, Adam; wouldn't know him from 1

—

.

—

MD19, MA56, M03, 16, NY70, RI4, Adams. 2 In humorous phrr suggesting a verv remote or primitive time. Cf Hector 1839 Spirit of Times 26 Oct 397/1 Ohio R Valley, As great races as has ever been run since Adam was a yearling. 1935 Davis Honey 105 OR, He said he hadn't heard a word about Wade Shivery since Adam was a cowboy. 1939 (1962) Thompson Body & Britches 499 NY, That horse is old enough to have been born in Adam's stable. 1942 Univ. Studies 56.80, "Since Adam was an oakum-boy." From time immemorial. 1959 VTHist. ns 27. 123, Since Adam was a rag doll As long as one can remember. Occasional. 1967-70Z).4^E(Qu. FF2lb, About ") Infs LA14, old jokes "The first time I heard that one PA68, Adam was a pup; TX 1 1 Adam was a kid; MD8, Adam wore short pants; (Qu. A24, Someone who has always been the same way: "He's ") Inf OH99, Adam's birth. been hot-tempered from .

ME

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

Adam-and-Eve

Adam's

/

10

flannel

3 In phrr suggesting a person's complete ignorance of the obvious or elementary. [Ext of Adam 1] A person who seems to you very stupid: 1 966 - 69 DARE (Qu. JJ 5b, ") Infs IL100, WI34, From Adam; NJ25, "He doesn't know Himself from Adam; WA3, His name from Adam. 1

.

.

4 In exprs suggesting the state of nature, nakedness.

Cf outward

Adam. Johnny, Dressed

DARE

like

No clothes on at (Qu. W20, ", or "They went in swimming .

Adam; WI74,

Adam-and-Eve n

In

all

.

Adam's

.

"There was

.

")

Inf IL5,

original dress.

[See quots senses 1

and 3;

puttyroot (eastern two-thirds US; see also

Adam-and-Eve-and-their-son), but also any of var similar plants, as of the genera Arethusa and Corallorhiza. & DE 25, Adam and Eve; this plant has two 1807 Scott Geog. bulbous roots, joined together by a small filament, about two inches in length; when put into water, one of the roots swims, and the other sinks. 1840 MA Zool. & Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 99, Adam and Eve. A singular plant with a single leaf sheathed, and bearing a few flowers towards the summit. The form of the flower originates the popular name. 1872 Scheie de V ere Americanisms 398, Putty-Root more generally known by its familiar name of Adam and Eve. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 96, When the plant is uprooted there are to be found as in a chain several old corms attached in succession to the one of the present season. It was perhaps a young plant that had borne but two which suggested to the donor of its popular name, Adam and Eve, hand in hand. 1931 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. AAA 3 Sth [Black], Adam and Eve roots (pair). Sew together in bag and carry on person for protection. (Aplectrum hye100, Adam-and-Eve 1940 Steyermark Flora Stem from a rounded bulb-like base (Adam) connected by a male) horizontal attachment to a similar one (Eve). 1959 Carleton Index Corallorrhiza Adam and Eve: Aplectrum hyemale Herb. Plants

MD

1

.

.

,

1

MO

.

.

.

1

,

.

.

;

Also applied to many other flowers with an odontorrhiza; upright spadix or pistil, and to a number of orchids. 1969-70 DARE used in witchcraft; (Qu. (Qu. S26b) Inf SC67, Adam-and-Eve root small white flower, like last-of-theS26e) Inf KY47, Adam-and-Eve [sic]

—

—

2 also Adam-and-Eve-in-the-bower, Adam-and-Eve 's-chariot: The common monkshood (Aconitum napellum). esp ME 1893 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 6.136, Aconitum napellus, Adam and Eve,

1896 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 9.179, Aconitum NaAdam-and-Eve-in-the-bower, Deering, Me. 1959 Carleton

Washington Co., Me. .

Index Herb. Plants

3 =dogtooth

1,

Adam and Eve's

chariot:

Aconitum

(v).

CA

violet.

CA

136,

The

dog's-tooth violets ... in

are commonly known as "chamise-lilies." Anname is "Adam and Eve," bestowed because the plant often bears a

Mendocino County

.

.

and a small flower at the same time. 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 28, In California they [Erythronium spp] are often

large

called

4

A

apple n apple.

1943 Writers' Program NC Bundle of Troubles 106, He is skinny and runty, and he got a big Adam apple in his guzzle what bob up and down when he talk. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. X7, The throat: "Some food got ") Infs KY85, SC58, Adam apple. [Both Infs have stuck in his

Adam or Eve See Adam-and-Eve 5 Adams See Adam 1 Adam's ale n [OED 1643 —; EDD:

.

"Dial, slang in gen. use."]

joe

Water. 1 708 ( 865) Cook Sot-weed Factor 2 MD, And was in fact but Adam 's Ale. [1857 Hawthorne Twice-Told 1.171 MA, The unadulterated ale of father Adam.] 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Adam's Water. 1939 AmSp 14.89 cTN. 1941 AmSp 16.21 IN, MO. ale 1943 AmSp 18.66 AL, LA, NC, SC, TN. 1944 in 1957 Old Farmer's Almanac Sampler 134 NEng, When the water is pouring off you in the hayfield, get the womenfolk to bring out a gallon of oatmeal water two handfuls of oatmeal with Adam's ale from the spring. 1949 Brown Amer. Cooks 677 OH, Ohio water is so good that Buckeye football teams take gallons of Adam's ale from home when touring the country, to keep the team healthy. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1966 DARE (QR p225) Inf MAI 1, Adam's ale nickname for water. 1

.

.

1

.

—

—

Adam's

all

Adam's

=Adam's 1950

off-ox

WELS

Adam's

~

fox n Also Adam's fox,

[Metanalysis of

old fox

off-ox]

all

fox.

1

("I wouldn't

1968

know him from

DARE (Qu.

1126,

—

.

.

")

"/ wouldn't

Inf,

1

cnWI,

know him from

") Inf OH63, Adam's off-ox my grandmother said that, and most of my life I said, "Adam's all fox"; CA53, IN22, Adam's old fox; LA32, Adam's fox.

Chamise

yucca

Lily,

(here:

thread) 1967 DARE

Adam and Eve. Yucca filamentosa). Cf Adam's and sometimes

needle (and

FW Addit PA 162, Adam-and-Eve— Yucca plants.

5 =Adam 1. ") 1966-70 DARE (Qu. 1126, "I wouldn't know him from Infs LA20, 35, NV4, NJ64, ND3, OK27, VA25, Adam and Eve; IA22, .

MN15, Adam

.

or Eve.

Adam-and-Eve-and-their-son n puttyroot with three corms. Cf Adam-and-Eve 1 Adam-and1970 Hyatt Hoodoo 410, One informant calls this root When there are two [corms], we have Adam and Eve-and-Their-Son Eve; when three, the son is added. This could suggest The Trinity or The Holy Family, but as often as I heard the plant named I remember the son .

.

.

.

once.

.

2

=Adam 1. chiefly Sth, DARE (Qu. 1126,

Infs

Adam's

root See

Adam-and-Eve

1

Adam-and-Eve's chariot See Adam-and-Eve 2 Adam-and-Eve's needle and thread n Also ~ thread and needle, Adam and Eve thread =Adam's needle (and thread).

.

.

Midi .

"I wouldn't

.

FL5, GA82, IL26, IN 19, IA1

1,

know him from

")

MO 15, 21, NC24, TX29,

32, 38,

apple.

Adam's brother n =Adam's off-ox 1

.

1967 DARE (Qu. 1126, SC45, Adam's brother.

.

.

"I wouldn't

know him from

")

Inf

Adam's cat See Adam's housecat Adam's cup n chiefly NEng =pitcher plant 1 (here: Sarracenia purpurea). is some1840 Phelps Lectures on Botany (1)169, Side-saddle flower times called Adam's cup, in reference also to the shape of the leaf. 1892 Bot. Gaz. 17.366, Adam's cup, Dudley, Mass. 1910 Graves Flowering The roots and leaves are medicinal. cup Plants 2 3 CT, Adam's .

.

.

.

.

Adam's

.

.

1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

1.

flannel n [Seequot 1957;

EDD

1828—]

Verbascum thapsus). 1891 AN&Q 7.210/1, Numerous fanciful names have been bestowed on

=mullein

(here:

the Mullen, such as flannel-flower, hare's beard, 1931 Clute Common Plants 80, Even

piter's staff.

Adam-and-Eve-in-the-bower See Adam-and-Eve 2

Adam-and-Eve

=jack-in-the-pulpit 1. 1944 PADS 2.17 sAppalachians, Adam's-apple The Indian turnip or jack-in-the-pulpit, known for its acrid or pungent taste. 1

1

A

.

Adam's apple n

1966-69

1897 Parsons Wild Flowers other

a yucca, prob yucca filamentosa.]

for

summer.

.

Adam

.

.

pellus

silkgrass,

grade-school educ]

EDD] also ~ root: Esp

.

June 2/ 1 (DA), Yucca filamentosa,

.

OEDS 1789 —; see

also

.

5

Adam and Eve's thread and needle. 1966 DARE FW Addit MA6, Adam and Eve's needle and thread — yucca. 1970 DARE (Qu. S26e) Inf VA77, Adam and Eve thread — a soap-plant. [FW drawing in QR:

The Adam's

1967-68

1

1831 Boston Eve. Transcript (MA) or

Adam's flannel, JuAdam and Eve have

and Eve's been remembered, but such names as Adam's flannel darning needle (Yucca filamentosa) must have been invented after the pair left the garden; at least they apparently had no use for flannel and darning needles earlier. 1965 Teale Wandering Through Winter 55, .

flannel ... On the American frontier, the wooly leaves of the mullein provided a substitute for up sore throats.

Adam's

.

thick, grey-green

flannel in binding

—

—

.

Adam's

11

Adam's foot n =Adam's off-ox 1967

Adam's 1.

DARE (Qu.

1

1126.

.

TNI 3. Adam's foot. Adam's fox See Adam's

Adam's 1

know him from

")

Inf

cannot

A person or thing one does not know and [Var of Adam 1] chiefly west of Appalaand cf Adam's housecat. Also called Adam's

(old) ox:

identify.

See

Map

Madam's

all fox,

fox

off-ox;

Adam's

brother,

~

loggers: apples.

mumps."

2 Transf: pregnant women. Cf eat dried apples 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo 1 NEng & Great Lakes, Adam's fruit

— Dried apples, pregnant women.

Adam's hat(band) n

=Adam s off-ox 1 1967 DARE (Qu. 1126.

[Perh by assoc with Dick's hatband]

,

See

hat(band),

~

Gabe's off-ox

in

.

.

.

.

't

't

.

.

"/ wouldn't

know him from

MA8. Adam's hat: LAM. Adam's hatband. Adam's housecat n Also ~ cat, ~ house States

~

1950 PADS 13.11 GA, He didn't know me from Adam's 1912 D.X 3.570 wIN, Adam's off ox off-ox. used only in "He wouldn't know me (or somebodv or something) from Adam's off ox." 1914 £>.Y4. 102 KS. 1931 PMLA 46.1304 sAppalachians. 1933Charlottesville Daily Progress 1 Apr 4/3 (Hench Coll.) VA, I've been speaking for years to three men I do not know from Adam's off-ox. 1950 WELS ") 1 5 Infs. throughout VVI, Adam's ("I wouldn know him from off-ox. 1956 Harder Coll. cwTN. 1965 Needham-Mussey Country Things 76 sVT, If a man says he don't know you from Adam's offox. he means the right-hand ox. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 1126, Joking ways of saying that you would not know who somebody is: "I wouldn know him ") 165 Infs, chiefly west of Appalachians, Adam's off-ox: from Infs IN60. LA8, MO10. OK45, Adam's ox: OH45, Adam's old ox.

1894

.

the

foot,

off-bull; Beltashazur's off-ox, devil's off-ox,

1972 Yesterday 1.2.26 Nth, The loggers called apples "Adam's fruit" while prunes were either "anchor brand strawberries" or "raisins with

Indian

off-ox n [off-ox]

~

also

chians all

n pi

fruit

Among

"1 wouldn't

.

Adamstown

foot

Inf

')

chiefly

S

Atl,

Gulf

Map

= Adam's off-ox 1908 DN 3.285

1

"He wouldn't eAL, wGA, Adam's (house-)cat "/ know me from Adam's house-cat." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 1126, ") 83 Infs, chiefly S Atl, Gulf States, wouldn know him from Adam's housecat: Infs LA25, OH90, VA69, 71, Adam's cat; ALIO. .

.

.

.

.

'l

Adam's house; FL48,

A housecat,

responding to the question.

56% had

these responses,

Adam's housecat. [Of all Infs than hs educ; of those giving than hs educ] [corr to]

26% had

less

less

•Adam's off- ox

./. •••

I

—

—

.

'

•••••

••

••

•

• •

off-ox.

DARE (Qu. A18) Inf MN38. Slow as Adam's off-ox: (Qu. ") Inf WA33. Adam's off-ox: (Qu. "He's poor as HH5. Someone who is queer but harmless) Inf MA58. Adam's off-ox. 1967 Wilson Folkways Mammoth Cave No. 2 33. Stubborn as Adam's offox. 1975 Preston Proverbial Comparisons sIN, Crazy as Adam's off ox. 1978 YankeeMar 18 NY, One of my mother's expressions was, "He doesn't know any more than Adam's off-ox." Never could figure out 1966-69

•

U41b.

•Adam's housecat

varr

+

(Qu. 1126;

Adam's needle (and thread) n [Seequot 1891 ;OEDS 1760— Any of several spp of yucca, chiefly of the eastern half US, but esp Yucca filamentosa which is also called Adam-and-Eve 4, Adam]

and-Eve's needle and thread, bear grass, bear's thread, curly hair, devil's shoestring, Eve's darning needle, Eve's thread 1, ghost bush, needle and thread 2, silk aloe, silk grass, Spanish bayonet, thread and needle. 1 765 942) Bartram Diary of a Journey 5 July NC, Ye other tree if we may so call it thay call adams needle. 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora (

1

1

2.276, Y. filamentosa called ful,

.

.

.

Adam's

needle, Silk aloes, Beargrass, use-

furnishing a silky thread, fine strong

twisted ropes, traces,

flax,

1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 1, Adam's needle, Yucca From their sharpgloriosa. 1891 Century Diet. 7026/2, Yucca pointed leaves with threads hanging from their edges. Y. filamentosa and Y. aloifolia are known as Adam 's needle and thread and as Eve's thread. 1936 Winter Plants NE 11, Y. glauca ... Bear-grass. Soap-weed. Adam's-needle Common in western Nebr., also found in eastern Nebr. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 368, Probably best known is the Adamsneedle or threadandneedle, Y. filamentosa. 1973 Stephens Woody Plants 18, Y filamentosa Yucca, Adam's needle and thread, Spanish bayonet Florida to Louisiana, north to Kansas (introduced), east to Tennessee and North Carolina.

and even

cables.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bull.

Coll.

what

.

.

it

was

all

about.

3 Anyone or anything: see quot. 1967 DARE (Qu. KK62. When you want not do something: "I wouldn do that for

to

make

't

it

clear that

Inf TX26.

")

you

will

Adam's

off-ox.

Adam's

old fox See

Adam's

Adam's (old) ox See Adam's Adam's pet monkey n =Adam's off-ox 1. 1966

DARE (Qu.

1126,

.

.

all

fox

off-ox

"I wouldn't

know him from

")

Inf

MS 15. Adam's pet monkey. Adam's

pitcher n

=pitcher plant 1 (here: Sarracenia purpurea). 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 581, S. purpurea 1961 W3. .

.

.

Adam's-pitcher.

Adamstown Indian n [See quot 1963; the ref is prob to nearby Adamstown MD, no Adamstown VA having been identified] One of a group of people of mixed racial ancestry, partly

.

Adam's off-bull n =Adam's off-ox 1 1956 Harder

(Qu. II26)

2 in proverbial comparisons: Someone who is extremely slow, poor. odd. stubborn or stupid. See also God's off-ox, Job's

T

i

varr

+

1

cwTN,

I

wouldn't a knowed 'im from Adam's off

Indian. Cf issue Bl 1946 Social Forces 24.447 VA, There are

other mixed Indian

peoples

Indians. Chickaho-

.

.

.

[including, in Virginia:]

many Adamstown

miny. Issues. 1963 Berry Almost White 35. Sometimes town which gives the people their name. Hence we have Indians in Virginia.

it is .

.

the nearby-

Adamstown

ad ax

add-iron

/

12

ad ax n [ad back-formation from adz taken ax

An

as pi

+ ax]

Cf mad

1969 DARE Tape MA40,

That was an ax

They probably used an ad ax

that, well, instead

in those days.

of haddin' a blade that run along with

the handle, the blade went just opposite the way the handle did they would take that an' cut the bark off the trees.

adays adv ( 1

ad burn 1897

—

SE

=rose pogonia. 1900 Lyons' Plant Names 297, Adder's-mouth Pogonia or Orchis. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 132 CT, Pogonia ophioglosAdder's Mouth. 1936 Eaton Wild Gardens New Engl. 1 19, soides Adder's mouth (moist meadows and swamps). 2

adz.

1899

Malaxis ... Adders-mouths. 1975 Duncan -Foote Wild/lowers Malaxis unifolia. 278, Adder's-mouth

adder n

1

[Alter of

intj

KS

.

And

OED—

dad burn] Cf dad n

Univ. Qrly. 6.85

neKS,

Ad burn

...

A

.

.

.

-1765 "Obs. "] arch Cf anights prep 2; Green VA Folk-Speech, Adays ... By day; in the daytime.

[a

9 1 2)

.

.

Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 242, names:

mild oath.

—

1 A snake used as a generic term (often in comb), scattered, but esp Sth, NEast; rare in West See Map al864 ( 874) Hawthorne Passages Amer. Note-Books 2.228, She called 1 965 - 70 DARE it an adder, but it appears to have been a striped snake. (Qu. P25) 204 Infs, scattered, but esp Sth, NEast, Adder, chicken adder, milk adder, puff adder (and many other names). 1

.

3 =chickweed (here: Stellaria media). 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 1, Adder's mouth

Stellaria

.

media.

Media

.

.

1971

Common

adder's mouth.

.

.

.

Stellaria

adder's tongue n 1 also occas adder tongue, rarely adder; also adder's leaf =dogtooth violet (in the eastern half US usu Erythronium americanum or E. albidum; in the West, esp OR, usu E. montanum). chiefly NEast and N Cent See Map 1822 (1832) MA Hist. Soc. Coll. 2d ser 9.150 VT, Plants, which are indigenous in the township of Middlebury

.

.

Erythronium lanceola-

.

tum Adder's tongue. 1857 Gray Manual of Botany 471, E. Americanum Yellow Adder's-tongue Low copses, &c; common. May. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 1, Adder's leaf, Adder's tongue, Er.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ythronium Americanum.

1894 Burroughs Riverby 26, ErythronI do not know; probably from the spotted character of the leaf, which might suggest a snake, though it in no wise resembles a snake's tongue. 1937 Stemen OK Flora

ium

.

.

.

Many

i,

How

it

of the

came

to be called adder's-tongue

Oklahoma

wild flowers are

transplanting": Adder's-tongue

.

.

.

"choice wildflowers for

1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild

[etc.].

Flowers 331, The common name of "adderstongue" is applied to these plants [Erythronium spp] because of the sharp purplish leaf points which push up above ground in earliest spring, reminding some imaginative folks of the dark-colored, sharp, and darting tongues of snakes. 1949 Peattie Cascades 252 OR, The white avalanche lily. Erythronium montanum, is sometimes called deertongue, adder's tongue, and dogtooth

1965-70 DARE (Qq. S3, SI 1, S26a, b, c, e) 105 Infs, chiefly NEast and N Cent, Adder's tongue; 22 Infs, esp MI and NY, Adder violet.

tongue;

•adder

varr

+

1

2 See adder's tongue

(Qu. P25)

TN

1

1 ,

Spotted adder's tongue;

MI64, Spotted adders. MI57, Adder's tongue.

1966

DARE

OH2, Yellow

Wildfl.

QR

adder's tongue; 15a Infs AR46,

PI.

1.

3 In proverbial comparr: a deaf as a(n) ~, deafer than a(n) ~ [Ref to Psalms 58.4, "like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear"] chiefly east of Missip R, esp NEast 1770 in 1965 Adams Legal Papers 3.270 MA, Deaf as an adder to the clamours of the populace. 1811 Graydon Memoirs 3 14 PA, They were, every where deaf as adders, to the claims of a general interest. 1848 ( 1 968) Cooper Letters & Jrls. 5.3 10 nNY, Poor old Mrs. De Lancey, who wasasdeafasanadder. 1929 AmSp 5. 130 ME, Deaf as an adder. 1938 AmSp 1 3.75, She [from Maine coast] says: 'Deaf as an adder,' we say [in Ohio] 'deaf as a post.' 1943 LANE Map 502 CT, NH, ME, 6 Infs, Deaf as an adder; CT, MA, 2 Infs, Deafer than an adder. 1965 Barbour Proverbs ILA. 1 965 - 70 DARE (Qu. X 1 9a, When a person 's hearing is not very good, he 's) InfNC61, Deafer than an adder; (Qu. XI 9b, If a person 's hearing is very bad) 1 Infs, Deaf as an adder [9 of 1 Infs are NEast]; InfsCT30, NCI, 61, VT8, Deafer than an adder; CT20, MA73, NC9, NY21, Deaf as a adder; NY209, Deef as an adder; NY75, Deefer than an adder. .

.

.

.

.

b dumb as an ~. 1952 Brown NC Folkl.

1

.

2 also adder-tongue cactus: =rattlesnake plantain (here: Goodyera pubescens). adder's tongue, 1898 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 1 1.281, Goodyera pubescens Turner, M[ain]e. Adder-tongue cactus, Swan's Island, Kennebec River, Me.

.360.

.

adder mouth See adder's mouth adder's flower n prob NEast

Red campion (Lychnis dioica). 1931 Clute Common Plants 111, being so named,

is

adder's violet n Cf rattlesnake Adder's flower, with no reason for

1

1

pubescens.

Lychnis dioica.

adder's leaf See adder's tongue

adder's mouth n Also adder mouth [Perh from the configuration of the flower] 1 An orchid of the genus Malaxis (esp M. unifolia). 1808 Rafinesque in 1901 Mohr Plant LifeAL 457, Achroanthes unifoGreen Addersmouth. 1840 MA Zool. & Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants lia Adder& Quadrupeds 202 MA, Microstylis ophioglossoides mouth root bulbous; roots of trees. 1903 Small Flora SE U.S. 386, .

.

.

.

.

.

.

violet

=rattlesnake plantain (here: Goodyera pubescens). 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 1, Adder's violet, Net leaf plantain, Goodyera

2 =dogtooth violet

1900 .

.

.

.

Lyons

Plant

(here:

Erythronium americanum). EfrythroniumJ Americanum 151,

Names

Adder's Violet.

adder tongue See adder's tongue

1

adder-tongue cactus See adder's tongue 2 add-iron n [Var of andiron, perh

infl

by folk-etym]

old-fash

1

addition

13

DARE (Qu.

1965-70

are laid on) 14

D32, Metal stands in a fireplace that the logs throughout L'S, Add-iron(s). [All Infs old]

Infs,

.

.

addition n

Usu prec by

a

noun

attrib or poss: a future

suburban residential

an area near a city, town, or village marked out into streets and lots as an extension of the residential section, chiefly Missip-Ohio Valley US6MDJH. & Baltimore Advt. (MD) 6 Jan 4/1, Found inHoward's new Addition to Baltimore-Town, One Hundred and Twenty-seven area;

.

.

DN

1 .384 nMissip Valley, Addition: part of village panes of glass. 1895 or city laid out in addition to original plot; e.g. Knox's addition to the city 2.416 nwAR, AddiUsed in legal papers, etc. 1904 of Territory annexed to a city or town. 'I bought a lot in the tion 1923 Herrick Lilla 24 IL, The new AddiLeverett addition.' was a new strip of prairie [near Chicago] which the Porter tion 1941 Post Realty Company was preparing to put on the market. (Morgantown WV) 1 8 Mar 1 (ADD), A lot in Norwood Addition. Town her new home in Suncrest Addition. 1965-70 DARE of Sabraton (Qu. C34, Nicknames for nearby settlements) Inf OK56, Caesar addition; (Qu. C35, Different parts of your town) 1 3 Infs, chiefly Missip - Ohio Where the Valley, (Barnes, Berria, Carney, etc.) addition; (Qu. 1124, Where well-offpeople live) Inf WV5, Middleburg addition; (Qu. 1125, live) Inf LA28, Lower-bracket addition; WV5, the poorer people Draper addition.

DN

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[OED addle v. 2 "Obs. or dial"; rfEDD] 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Addle

addle v

,

— To earn by

labor.

add out See out adge See edge adios

intj,

n [Span:

lit

God, as Eng good-bye See Map

to

< God be

with

SW

scattered, but esp

you]

An expression of farewell. 1837 New York Mirror 23 Dec 208/1 (DA), An overworked, spavined, broken-down set but adios, Amigo. 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce Good-bye!

—

156

SW, The

attentive host,

who

gently waves, with his hand, a final

from a window. cl871 Twain Screamers 58 MO, " You are the loser by this rupture, not me, Pie-plant. Adios." I then left. 1892 DN 1.243 TX. 1929 AmSp 5.76 NE. 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms 86, Adios is commonly made use of in the border region and is heard in light conversation in other parts of the United States. It is heard in U.S. army parlance and has been adopted also by radio announcers. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. NN1 1, Informal ways of saying 'good-bye' to people you know quite well) 56 Infs, scattered, but esp SW, Adios; NH18, FL52, Adios amigo(s); (Qu. Y19, To begin to go away) Inf TX 103, Say adios. 'adios

'

/

adobe

and a doe may be dragged out of the woods at night to be cut up quickly and put in the freezer "Lamb without horns" or "Adirondack goat" turns up at Sunday dinner in back country homes now and then. .

[OED

admiration n

.

.

admiration 1,-1852, "arch.

Cf admire

"]

A, miration

Wonderment,

surprise.

1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.513, Admiration, to make ... To show surprise. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 85 Ozarks, Admiration, usually shortened to miration,

means wonderment or surprise in the Ozarks.

still

admire v

A

Intr sense.

Usu

marvel, to regard with wonder or astonishchiefly NEng, S Midi arch or old-fash See also admiration 1638 Hooker Unbeleevers 1.8 NEng, Thus the people admired at Gods great goodnesse. 1774 in 1 865 Hist. Soc. Proc. 8.349, 1 could not but admire at the subservient honors paid his Excellency. 1853 Bird Nick of Woods 370 KY, Roland did not admire long at the unlooked-for resurrection of his old ally of the ruin. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, To Admire ... To wonder at; to be affected with slight surprise ... In New England, particularly in Maine, the word is used in this is a sense. 1865 Dodge Skirmishes 437 NEng, Sound Orthodox piety thing to be admired (at) in this Mammon-worshipping age. 1940 AmSp 15.45 sAppalachians, Their [=mountain people's] use of sight is shared admire for to be astonished by Milton. by Gower;

by

foil

at: to

[OED admire \b,c^ 1865]

ment.

MA

.

.

.

.

B Tr

.

.

senses.

1 usu followed by infin: To like, enjoy (something, or doing something). [OED admire 1 d "Obs. or dial. "] chiefly NEng, S Midi, and settlement areas al770 in 1859 Duane Letters to Franklin 194 Boston MA, I should admire to come and see and hear all about even- thing. 1829 in 1927ZXY 5.423 NEng [Dunglison's Glossary], I should admire to go to Boston. 1831 (1940) Motte Charleston to Harvard 88, After drinking a glass of soda water, which he admired (Yankeeism), we started for Boston. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, To Admire ... To like very much. This verb is often and very absurdly used in New England in such expressions as, "I should admire to see the President." 1864 in 1926 Harte Sketches 128 PA, My comrade said he did not admire to smell a whale; and I adopt his sentiments while I scorn his language. 1873 Harte Mrs. Skaggs 63 CA, Thar's dried appils too on the shelf, but I don't admire 'em. Appils is swellin'. 1903 DN 2.304 seMO. 1913 DN 4. swME, Admire ... "I just admire to get letters, but I don't admire to answer them." 1926 AmSp 2.82 ME, I'd admire to go. 1927 AmSp 2.347 cwWV, She would admire for to see your mother. 1973 Allen LA I'M 1 .408 SD, She admired to smell a skunk. 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 1 sAppalachians, I'd really admire to have youens eat dinner with us next Sunday.

To wish, to desire strongly. 1876 Harte Gabriel Conroy 190 CA, "Why didn't you come into the parlor?" she said ... "I didn't admire to to-night," returned Gabriel. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, I'd sure admire to see that girl. 1967 DARE FW Addit TN 11,1 would admire to have been somewheres else. [FW: Inf 2

has heard]

admiring vbl n

The

act of casting an "evil eye." 1970 Anderson TX Folk Med. 30. Evil eye ... To cure soreness or injury to the body caused by admiring (looking over), have the victim assume a prone position and rub the body with a raw egg.

admittance, give one the vphr [Folk-etym] Var of mitten, give one the 1941 LANE Map 406 swCT, 'She refused to go with him to a party or a dance.' Gave him the admittance [gev im 8i admitants], used by the .

.

adios v [adios

=vamoose 1970

informant and his wife.

n]

ado See

v.

DARE ")

intj,

.

.

(Qu. Y18, "Before they find this out, Inf TX 103, Adios; get up and go. .

.

we'd better

Adirondack steak n Also~goa/ Cf DS P35a

= mountain

lamb. 1954 White Adirondack Country 18 neNY, Hotels served venison in and out of season; out of season, the name changed to "Adirondack Steak" or "mountain lamb." Ibid 40, Game is still killed out of season 1

adobe

SW,

a inert vowel 5

Pronc-sp adobie [Span] n, often attrib Usu |(3)'do,bi| West, and Spanish settlement areas See also dobe and its

compounds la Sun-dried mud or clay, or a crude cement a brick of such material used in building. 1759 Venegas

Hist.

themselves houses,

CA

if

1.77,

they

Some,

may

made of this;

to please the fathers, have

also,

made

be called such, of adobe or unburnt

adobe

dollar

afear(e)d

/

14

1844 (1954) Gregg used for building unburnt bricks, about eighteen inches long by nine wide and four are thick, laid in mortar of mere clay and sand. These bricks are called adobes, and every edifice, from the church to the palacio, is constructed of the same stuff. Ibid 217, Some inferior houses ofadobewere so much soaked by the rains, that they tumbled to the ground. 1856 Derby in mixing Indians employed Phoenixiana 133 sCA, We have 1 1 87 TX, Adobe: sun-baked tile or adobe for the type moulds. 1892 large brick ... By extension the tenacious clay used as mateOften pronounced by Americans ad-ob; on the border it is rial ad-o-be or even simply dob-e. 1968 Adams Western Words. 1972Carr Da Kirte Talk 105 HI, Spanish words were acquired by both the English around Waibetween 1830 and 1840 and the Hawaiian languages Much more important than the word poncho was mea, Hawaii the word adobe, and the new method of building houses and schools introduced with it by the Spaniards at Waimea. bricks, covered with sedge; but few live in

Commerce 144 NM, The .

materials

them.

generally

.

.

.

DN

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

b attrib uses. 1839 (1973) Farnham Travels Prairies 2.96 OR, We spent the 2d and 3d most agreeably with Mr. Walker, in his hospitable adobie castle. 1867 Lowell Biglow 157 NEng, He goes to plast'rin' his adobe house. 1907 White AZ Nights 21, The roof of the shack had fallen in, and the 1970 DARE Tape CA206, floor was six inches deep in adobe mud. brick made out of adobe clay. Adobe brick .

.

2 An adobe house. 1821 in 1858 Dewees Letters TX 21, The remainder of the buildings are adobes, except a few which are made of wood. 1883 Harper's Mag. 66.491/1 sAZ, The town is a collection of inferior adobes. 1948 Popular Western 44/1 (DA), In the squat, thick-walled adobe, he lighted a reflector wall lamp.

Diet.,

1

Adobe ... In the quicksilver-mines of the of the finer ores mixed with clay, for more

Pacific coast, a brick

made

convenient handling

in the furnace.

.

.

.

.

1

.

A

dollar n

Mexican

SW

.

.

on each side of a row. 1968 L20, Implement used in the field after it's been plowed to break up the lumps) Inf NY96, A-drag had an A-shaped frame with square teeth— peg-teeth, they called 'em. 1968 DARE Addit sDE, A-drag a harrow with an A-shaped frame and spikes the size of railroad spikes, used to break up clods.

DARE (Qu.

.

.

—

FW

—

[Transf from naut use]

adrift adj

chiefly coastal

NEng

Loose, unfastened; unclaimed: see quots. 1916 Macy-Hussey Nantucket Scrap Basket 123, "Adrift" Nantucketers use this word constantly in the sense of loose or unfastened; as "a blind on the house got adrift in the gale." 1942 ME Univ. Studies 56.30, There was danger everything was adrift, that is, loose and out of place or ramshackle. [Footnote to adrift:] Fig. Rickety, crazy, coming apart or undone. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 2 1 ME, Cape Cod, Long Island, In coastal speech, to break, come, fetch or strike, adrift is to

—

become untied

To

adrift."

or to

come apart. "You

can't mail this here passel;

it's all

means to abandon. 1975 Gould but meaning something that should be

cut. cast, set or turn, adrift

ME Lingo 32, Adrift — Afloat, moored or in

its

hinges, or a lady

Hence, a flapping shirt

right place.

tail,

who doesn't do all her work at home

.

a barn door off its .

.

The

cadets use

the term "gear adrift" for something they have found; particularly 'tweren't lost until they

found

adswocate v Pronc-sp

it.

Gear

adrift is

up

for advocate

—

advantage v Pronc-sp

if

for salvage.

1922 Gonzales Black Border 287 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah Adswocate advocate, advocates, advocated, advocating.

[Cf

'vantage

WNID SW, Adobe

.

.

take advantage of; cheat. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 106 think he 'uz tryin'

t'

t'

DJE

glossary],

advantage in same

MS [Black], He didn' want Brer Frawg

'vantage 'im.

adverage See average

.

Made

An

uphill railroad grade. A grade on a 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Adverse logging road or railroad, against the movement of loaded logs. 1977 Adams Lang. Railroader.

—

advertise v Pronc-spp abbuhtize, abvertize

A

Forms.

1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 240, Abvertize. 1922 Gonzales Black advertise, Border 287 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Abbuhtize

—

advertises, advertised, advertising.

B

Sense. 1982 Barrick

See also dobe

peso.

1909 (1930)

.

adverse n

4 Heavy, clay-like soil; clay. SVV, esp CA 1858 Hutching's Mag. Sept 138/1 (DA), What vegetables flourish best in the different Adobe soils? Big dornicks and scrubby cedars. 1891 AN&Q 6.216 CA, Another use of the word adobe is that which makes it the name of a kind of clay. So distinguished a writer as Prof. E.W. Hilgard often speaks of adobe soils. 1897 Land of Sunshine 7. 87 cCA, There is no hardpan, alkali, or adobe to vex the tiller of the soil. 1922 Bryan Routes to Desert 106 AZ, Orchard-like forests of mesquite are common on adobe flats. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. C31, Heavv. sticky soil) 21 Infs, SW, CA, Adobe. [16 of 21 Infs CA]

adobe

.

teeth have been removed, one-half passing

To

Mar (DA), The screenings and fine 'tierras.' These 'tierras' are made into 'adobes' before being

1889 Century

burnt.

in hight [sic] the ground is harrowed between the rows to destroy the small weeds This is done with an A drag, after the front

sense]

3 In mining: see quot 1889. 1873 Mining & Scientific Press 2 stuff is called

two inches

of adobe;

— hence applied

Americans to any of various Mexican things; as, an adobe dollar. Colloq. 1936 McKenna Black Range 271 SW, I made big And that sack of adobe winnings adobe silver dollars by the gallon dollars acted just like a cork lifesaver. 1960 Wentworth-FlexnerS/a«g.

—

Publish legal notice that one is no Coll. sePA, Advertise longer responsible for his wife's debts. "He advertised her in the paper

and she

left

him."

adz n Usu

|aedz|

colloquially by

—

.

.

.

adobe-maker n SVV derog CfASHH28 1910 Current Slang 4.3 A2 ISM, Adobe-maker .

.

.

A Mexican or Mexi-

intj [a vbl aux + done: OED have done! under do 17, -» 1 803; cf EDD adone] arch Stop! Enough! 1903 DN 2.295 Cape Cod MA (as of 1850s), Adone ... No more of

Expression generally repeated as 'Adone, adone.'

To

1 ,

also ppl adj

DN

.395.

1967

DARE FW Addit TNI 7, They wasn't adopted

to this climate.

adopt v

|aed|

.

adz v humorous Fig: to bite.

1975 Gould ME Lingo 33, References to it [=the adz] in everyday Maine speech are obvious as to derivation and meaning: "Migod, you should have seen him adz into that punkin pie!"

ae adv 1

by back-formation,

adzac(k)ly, adzactly See exactly

adopted

adapt.

1895

or,

foot adz]

adone

adopt v

|aej|

.

can-American.

that.

rarely

Std sense, var forms. 1893 DN 1.278 wCT (as of cl850), The word [adz] on account of its them form was looked on as a plural, and always took a plural verb adz. 1965 -68 DAREFW Addit cnOK, Foot [aej];TN26, Foot [. 285 eAL, wGA [aebbaem(3)]. 1940 in 1944 ADD swPA, nWY, Alabamv. 1940 Post (Morgantown WV) 27 Jan (ADD), [Headline:] 'Bama. cl940 in 944 ADD, 'Bamy. Radio "Ain't that Good News," negro song. 1942 in 1944 ADD, ['aeta'bae'mi] bound. (Song.) 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 11 eTN, wNC, Alabama occasionallv loses its final vowel. 1942 [see Bl below]. 1970 DARE (Qu. HH1) InfDCl 1. [baem»]. 1979 DARE File, [A Connecticut youth speaking of his father's Alabama speech:] I sure .

.

.

hate to hear

him use

B

chiefly

Senses,

that "

'Bammy"

among Black

talk!

speakers

The South. 1942 Amer. Mercury 55.91 NYC [Black], Youse from right down in 'Bam your ownself! Ibid 94 [Glossary of Harlem Slang], Bam, and down in Bam down South. 1960 Wentworth-Flexner Slang, Alabama The South, those states which were part of the Southern Confederacy Not now common; associated with Negro use.

—

.

.

.

.

2 also

.

.

'Bama chukker:

A

rustic or countrified person, esp

one

from the South. 1966 Current Slang 1.2.1 white rustic ... He some

DC

'Bama chukker ... A Southern 'bama chukker. 1970 Ibid 5.2.5 SD an "un-hip" person. 1970 DARE (Qu. [Black],

ol'

[Black]. Bama ... A rustic; HH1) InfDCl l,[bam»].

Alabama clover n =Mexican clover.

An

.

.

egg fried in the hollow center of a piece of bread.

1951 Brown Southern Cook Book 149 SC, Alabama Eggs Cut a round center out of a slice of bread about the size of egg yolk Lay bread in pan and break egg carefully over it, being careful that the yolk slips into the center of the bread. Fry to golden brown. .

.

.

.

.

.

Alabama whippoorwill See whippoorwill Alabama wool n joe 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific

NW, Alabama

wool

— Cotton

clothing, especially underwear.

Alabamy See Alabama

or meteor.

1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Akualele A will-o'-the-wisp, fireball. (Such a phenomenon is regarded as supernatural by many.) V[ery] S[eldom]. 1967 DARETape HI4, That [=kawila, a black wood] can protect your home from anything. Like this akualele ['aku'lele], they .

or

.

a road.

.

.

.

1933 Torreya 33.84 MS, Richardia scabra Alabama clover. Alabama egg n Also called hobo egg, Rocky Mountain egg

HI

.

.

1

Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). 1933 Bryan Hawaiian Nature 228, The Hawaiian name

.

.

[but they're] smaller, weigh about three-

1

^aknown ppl adj [a inert vowel 1 aknow "Very rare after OE period Known; acquainted.

n, also attrib |'aku|

.

Old AI

A path, 1951

.

1827 (1939) Sherwood Gaz.

akio See ahkio

aku

something like a salmon quarter pound.

old-fash

Akin, related. 1937 Hall Coll. eTN, I told the German doctor that we was akinned |3'kmd|. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 92 eTN, wNC, [d] is added bymost elderly speakers to akin and horn: [a'kind], [boa^nd].

his

kill

P2) Inf HI 14, [a'kule] mackerel; (Qu. P7) Inf HI4. Akule— [fished for] with light threads looking like shrimp. 1967 DARF Tape HI9. They caught about a ton. I guess, [of] akule Akule is

ala n [Haw]

To

to

.

.

.

DARE (Qu.

1967

Al See

akimbo v

air

=big-eyed scad. 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 303, Among the Hawaiian Islands it is an abundant and important food-fish and is known as the akule. 1960 Gosline- Brock Hawaiian Fishes 173, t Akule. Hahalalu [young], Aji, Bigeye scad) The akule may be easily identified by its large The akule eyes is an important commercial species in Hawaii.

.

Crooked, out of alignment. 1968 DARE (Qu. KK70. Out of proper shape: "That house ") Inf CA80. Akimbo.

the

fireball.

HI

akule n [Haw]

.

[Fig use of akimbo with elbows bent

it

.

alabaster

/

.

.

alabaster n

A

playing marble

alley

n2

made

to resemble alabaster.

Usu

called

.

alabia

Alaska turkey

/

DARE

1967

32

EE6d, Special marbles) Inf LA8, Alabaster

(Qu.

alabia n [Perh conn with

A children's game: 1967

Haw

'alapa athletic, athlete]

see quot.

DARE (Qu. EE33) Inf HI6,

[,ala'/?ia]

Plants

HI

— Bull Durham bags

stuffed

with grass; each side tossed bags back and forth; [if you] hit someone, he's dead (out of the game); then run across and pick up your own bag without being hit by other bag. Only two bags no matter how many

la

Comanche adv phr

an Indian

[Fr a la in the

manner of + Comanche

SW

tribe]

Of horseback

riding: see quots.

[1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 436 SW, They always fight on horseback ... On such occasions a Comanche will often throw himself upon the opposite side of his charger, so as to be protected from the darts of the enemy; and, while clinging there, he will discharge his arrows with extraordinary dexterity from underneath his horse's neck.] 1850 Garrard Wah-to-yah 161 NM, Motioning to us to ride a la camanche with our bodies so that nothing is seen on the opposite side but part of the leg with which, and the heel of the same, we held on the saddle cant. 1968 Adams Western Words, A la Comanche Hanging on on the side of a horse as the Comanche Indian did in battle.

—

—

alacran n Also alacrany, alicran

A

SW

[Span alacrdn]

scorpion.

1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 282, As an expedient to deliver the city [=Durango, Mexico] from this terrible pest, a society has actually been formed, which pays a reward for every alacran (or scorpion) that is brought to them. 1848 Hughes Doniphan 's Exped. 1 28/2, The soldiers [while in Chihuahua] would sometimes shake their blankets, toss the scorpions and lizards, and alacrans, exclaiming angrily, "d nthe scorpion family." 1887 in 1921 Thorp Songs Cowboys 93 SW, In my little adobe casa on the plains. Alacranies on the ceiling, cucarachas on the wall. 1891 DN 1.243 TX, Alacrdn: a scorpion. Different species of the genus Scorpio, common in Texas and Mexico. 1932 Bentley SpanThe word is ish Terms 89, Alacran English modification alicran seldom used in English even in the most Spanish sections along the .

.

.

.

.

border. English "scorpion"

[Haw

alae salt n

A

coarse, red

food.

.

.

is

Talk

'alae salt ...

1

1

A

The Hawaiian word

talamagoozlum n [A 1895

down

infix

salt: see

7T455, Populus

2 HI,

Some common is

defined as "water-soluble colloidal for medicine, and for dye."

salt,

fanciful formation, perh

from Ft a

la

+

+ goozlum thick liquid]

DN 1.384 seNY, Alamagoozlum: maple syrup made by melting alamo poplar]

public park or walk lined with trees place names.

.

.

SW

Poplar 3, 1970 Correll

1

.

.

.

.

southeastern to central Arizona. Local in southeastern California.

alanui n

[Haw

ala path

+

nui large]

HI

path.

1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Alanui ... A highway, road, or wide and frequented path, as distinguished from a mere trail. 1954-60 Hance Hawaiian Sugar, Alanui. 1967 DARE Tape HI2, As you go along in this tremendously long block [in a pineapple field] every once in a while they have a cut-through, which takes the Hawaiian word alanui [ala'nui] Ala is a path, and I don't know what the nui means. .

.

.

— now used

chiefly in

.

n, also attrib

Also dimins alamillo, alamito

,

.

al'a's See always

Alaska cotton =cotton grass

n, also attrib [See 1

quot 1938]

.

1938 (1958) Sharpies AK Wild Flowers 56, "Alaska Cotton.".. Flowers in dense heads, the perianth bristles very numerous and elongated, producing a fluffy ball of "cotton." 1939 FWP Guide AK225, A Chugach love potion was made of 'Alaska cotton,' thoroughly dried and powdered. 1942 Alaska Sportsman Sept 27 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl), Then Mr. Atmik illustrated the old method of lighting a pipe with flint and steel and fuzz from the Alaska cotton plant. 1971 Bailey Field Work of a Museum Naturalist 84 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl), The tundra was covered sparsely with willow but grasses grew in profusion the white heads of "Alaska cotton", blown gently by a cool breeze, making the summer flats look like shimmering snow fields. 1976 Hobbs Tisha 1 9 AK (as of 1927), "What's that?" I asked Mr. Strong ... I didn't think it could be cotton, but it was. " 'Alaska cotton,' " Mr. Strong said. Ibid 20, We rode through acres and acres of silvery bolls, their long silky fibers waving like pom-poms atop a slender stem.

—

Alaskan tea See Alaska

tea

^Alaskan trade n [Folk-etym based on

Cf lasso

last-go-trade, var of

trade

1966 DARE (Qu. KK35, When someone wants to pass on a compliment "I have a about you, in exchange for one about himself, for you. ') Inf GA13, Alaskan trade. .

NW

Alaska pine n Pacific The mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 45, Tsuga mertensiana Alaska Pine (Northwestern lumbermen). 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 2 Pacific NW, Alaska pine Western hemlock. .

.

.

— NW

19\7(\923) Birds Amer. 239, Varied Thrush Ixoreus nxvius nsevius Other Names. Oregon Robin; Alaska Robin. 1940 Writers' Program OR Mt. Hood 18, The Western thrush or robin, a summer resident, differs only slightly from the varied thrush or Alaska robin, a shy resident thrush. seldom seen. 1967 DARE(Qu.Ql 4) InfWA30, Alaska robin .

[Span]

Any

.

SW

of several poplars, such as the cottonwood. 1854 in 1 856 U.S. Congress Serial Set 794. 1.11 AZ, The alamos grow to a good large size and are quite abundant. 1860 in 948 Western Folkl. 7.3, On the Colorado River. There is abundance of mesquit and alamo timber. 1892 DN 1.187 TX. 1916 Peixotto Hispanic 164, It is known locally as "Old Town", and centres about a placeta, set out with tamarisks and alamitos. 1964 Hymes Lang, in Culture 467, The Spanish word alamo, meaning the European poplar, and thus applied to American cottonwoods, has come to be the usual word for any deci1

SW

.

—

.

with a great variety of trees.] 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 120 SW, The alamo (Populus monilifera) represents in Texas and all the formerly Spanish states the Cottonwood of the older part of the union ... [It is found] growing wild, and carefully planted in the public walks of Southern and Western towns, which hence derive the name of Alameda. 1878 in 1942 CA Folkl. Qrly. 1.269 AZ, The alameda long and wide/ With cottonwoods to shade each side/ Stretched out a good long mile or more. 1970 Stewart Amer. Place-Names, Alameda used loosely for a grove of any kind of shade-giving trees. The county (hence, the city) in CA was named for the fine growth of oaks.

1

.

=varied thrush.

Cfallee

[1824 Poinsett Notes on Mexico 50, The Alameda, a public walk, or rather park, laid out in lines diverging from different centres, and planted

alamo

.

Alamillo.

—

Alaska robin n Pacific

[Span, from

A

Wislizenii

.

loanblends of Hawaii

the sugar.

alameda n

DARE (Qu. T

=trade-last.

HI

coarse-grained, red salt used in Hawaiian

'alaea

1967

— not poplar; called alamo.

2 The Arizona sycamore. 1953 Little Native Trees U.S. 278, Platanus wrightii Other Common Names ... alamo. Range. Southwestern New Mexico and

trade-last]

quot]

Cottonwood

.

salt.

ocherous earth, used for coloring

-ma-

.

preferred.

+ Engl

'alaea

Da Kine

1972 Carr [include]

tree not specifically identified.

A main

players.

a

duous

trees) Inf TX22,

[.asb'baesta].

.

Alaska tea n Also Alaskan tea =Labrador tea. 1933 Marshall Arctic Village 124 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl), We tore long aisles between dark green spruce trees, were brushed by the willow branches and the evergreen leaves of the Alaska Tea. 1935 Alaska Sportsman April 28 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl), To complete your indigenous dinner try the wild and wooly beverage of the northland, the Wooly Alaska tea. 1967 Alaska Sportsman July 10 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl), Great areas were covered by cotton sedge, salmonberry, and the white showy blossoms of Alaskan tea.

down

Alaska time n Cf colored people's time, farmers' time, Jewish time 1976 Hobbs Tisha 11 AK, "You're going to have to get used to Alaska time." "What's Alaska time?" "An hour or two early or an hour or two late. Maybe more depending on the weather."

Alaska turkey n Cf Cape Cod Turkey joe Salmon. 1948 Rov/e Maritime Hist. 235

ME, Other Maine ships

.

.

made them-

— 33

alather

chile for a week,

meatball soup.

Common among

turkey."

known by some

others of long standing in the area.

.

alather See a prep 4 al'ays See always

Albany beechdrops n 1.

—

1822 Eaton Botany 414, Pterospora andromeda Albany beechdrops. 1847 Wood Class-Book 380, Albany Beech-drops [is found] in First discovered various parts of N.Y. and Vt. near Niagara Falls. 1915(1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 360, It is also called Giant Bird's-nest and Albany Beech-drops. .

.

.

.

.

.

Albany beef n [From the former abundance of sturgeon near Albany NY] NY joe; now hist Cf Cape Cod turkey

The

flesh

DARE (Qu.

those of Spanish background; also

1981

DARE File

sCA, Lots of people around here like to eat albondigas soup. That's vegetable soup that's got little meatballs in it along with the vegetables carrots, celery, and potatoes, usually. [1982 Capital Times (Madison WI) 20 Oct 35/3, Here's an ethnic California soup, heavy on the garlic: Sopa De Albondigas or Meatball Soup California Style]

1

=pinedrops

1970

left]

alcapoga

and then she made sopa de albondigas with what was H36) Inf CA194, Albondigas [aePbondagss]

Chinese cannery selves useful in the later days [= 1890s] carrying workers north through the Unimax Pass to the fishing stations, returning when the canning season was over with full cargoes of "choice Alaska .

/

of the sturgeon.

1791 (1971) Long Indian Interpreter 1 18, This fish [=sturgeon] is very common in Albany, and is sold at Id. per lb. York currency. The flesh is 1848 Bartlett Americanisms, Albany Beef. Sturcalled Albany beef. geon; a fish which abounds in the Hudson river; so called by the people in the State of New York. 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 348, The former [=sturgeon] coming up the Hudson River as far as Albany, and being highly esteemed there, especially when roasted in the form of steaks, are popularly known as A IbanyBeef. 1883 in 1 909 Ware Passing Engl. 4/ 1 The New York Herald concludes by observing that 'ioukka.' which it calls 'really the national soup of Russia,' to 'one of simple tastes, must resemble Hudson River sturgeon, otherwise known as Albany beef. struck by Jersey lightning.' 1949 Brown Amer. Cooks 6 1 6 NY, That fine caviar producer, the sturgeon was once so plentiful up the Hudson River that it was called 'Albany beef.'

album

quilt n [Transf from album book in which to collect autographs and inscriptions] Cf friendship quilt, presentation

quilt

A

which each block, usu bearing an autograph or brief contributed by a different person. 1947 Botkin Treas. New Engl. Folkl. 695, Out of the autograph album with its varying sentiments both wise and maudlin, emerged the "Album" quilt, each block bearing an embroidered text or verse and signed by the donor ... To be the recipient of an "Album" quilt was considered a distinguished honor. 1949 Ickis Quilt Making 201 Album quilts have no set pattern, except that they are made in blocks or squares; each block has a different design created from materials by the woman who made it. 1970 GA Dept. Ag. Farmers Market Bulletin 1 2 Aug 7/2, [Advt:] Quilt patterns; pc. Maple Leaf, Milky Way, Album. 1979 WI Then & Now 25.7. One of the most striking appliqued quilts is the quilt in

verse,

is

,

.

.

.

"Oak Leaf album

.

quilt (any quilt with

autographs or verses written in the plain blocks is termed an album quilt) made in 1 846 in Pennsylvania.

,

Albany hemp n [See quot 1859] The Canada nettle (Laportea canadensis).

.

.

Hemp.

Albany sleigh n Also ^cutter [See quot 1977] Nth now Also called swell-body sleigh Cf Portland sleigh sleigh

of the

latter half of the

hist

nineteenth

.

albedritsch See elbedritsch

obs

duties.

alcalde n |,al'kalde, 1932) [Span] local official;

Also alcade, alcaide (but see quot

,ael'kaeldi|

SW

son.

.

now

somewhat also

SW

or barranca. Originally in Spanish, a water basin.

From

Arabic.

1934

Terms, Alberca. .water hole; water

old-fash

any important or self-important per-

& Proc. 14.1506 LA, There are two whose jurisdiction, civil and criminal, extends through the city of New Orleans. 1806Berquin-Duvallon Travels 1 50 LA, This council 1803 U.S. Congress Debates

Alcaldes,

[=cabildo] distributes

among

members

its

several important offices,

1821 (1904) Austin any soldiers. 1860 in 1948 Western Folkl. 7.3 Los Angeles CA, The robbers carry a persons who are to lose their goods and list ... of thirtv-three 1.187 TX, Al1892 lives... all the alcaldes and judges. This word is often applied to justices of the peace, more calde specifically to OM. Roberts, governor of Texas, who was a justice of the peace in the early days of Texas, as an affectionate nickname, "the Old 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms 90, Alcalde (Spanish, Alcalde." was used throughout the Spanish [,a:l'ka:lde:]; English [^el'kaeldi]) territory of America and only recently has been replaced in parts of New Mexico. It is sometimes confused with Spanish alcaide meaning the 1967 DARE (Qu. officer charged with the defense of a fort or castle. around here.") Inf TX43, Alcalde "He'd like to be the HH17. such as

Jrl.

.

.

alcaide provincial, attorney general, &c.

TX 298. Wrote

to the alcade that he could not spare

DN

.

.

.

.

alberca n [Span "pond, pool"] See quot 1892. 1892 DA' 1.187 TX, Alberca: a water hole, water pocket, watering place. I Jsed only in Western Texas. Ibid243, Also permanent water in a canon (1975) Mawson Diet. Foreign pocket: southwestern U.S.

SW

[1824 Poinsett Notes on Mexico 1 4. They [=the goods] are charged with a further duty, or alcabala, of twelve and a half per cent, ad valorem.] 1836 ( 1935) Holley Texas 2 1 3, All the produce of agriculture or industry of the new settlers, shall be free from excise duty, Alcabala, or other

1934 Hanley Disks csCT, [One style of] gentleman's driving was called an Albany sleigh. That was rather low-back, [with a] higher dash, more like a boat. 1976 WI Then & Now December 2. The classic Albany (or Swellbody) and Portland (or Kimball) sleighs designed and built by craftsmen were latter-day city cousins of the homemade, utilitarian sledges that provided most of the winter overland transportation in Wisconsin before railroads and roads. 1977 Berkebile Amer. Carriages 148 [Caption], This plate, drawn from ambrotypes furnished by the James Goold firm in Albany, N.Y., shows the ever-popular Albany cutter, also known as a swell-body or Goold cutter. Though originated by Goold nearly a quarter of a century earlier, this sleigh was also built by hundreds of other builders until the end of the carriage era. [Plate reprinted from] The New York Coach-maker's Magazine, vol. 1, Nov. 1858. .

DN

tax. esp a sales tax.

A

.

obs

1851 in 1942 AmSp 17.64 NM, All gambling at albur shall be prohib1892 1 .243 TX, Albur: a game of cards. From Spanish albures, of Arabic origin.

century. sleigh

SW

card game.

ited.

A

Bartlett

A popular horse-drawn

A

alcabala n [Span]

Americanisms, Albany Hemp. (Urtica canadensis.) Canada nettle, so called from the use made of its fibrous bark. Albany 1910 Graves Flowering Plants CT 155, Laportea canadensis

1859 (1968)

albur n [Span albures]

.

.

.

.

[.ael'kaeldi].

[Span]

alcaldia n Also anglicized as alcaldeship

SW

arch or

old-fash

or domain over which an alcalde had jurisdiction. 1885 Shinn Mining-Camps 97, The most important alcaldeship in California was that of San Francisco. 1968 Adams Western Words, has jurisdiction; also, the Alcaldia The territory in which an alcalde office in which he conducts business.

The court

albertwitsch See elbedritsch Alberty See -y

.

albetritsch See elbedritsch

albondigas n

pi,

also attrib [Span albondiga ball of forcemeat]

SW Meatballs, usu served in a soup. 1940 FWP Guide [1968 Bradford 1 10, Albondigas— Meat balls. Red Sky SW, She and Amadeo and I stuffed ourselves on venison

NM

1

—

.

.

.

alcamy See alchemy talcapoga n Cf DS T9 and catalpa 1968

DARE (Qu.

leaves, clusters

T9, The common shade tree with large heart-shaped of white blossoms, and long thin seed pods) Inf MD34.

1

Alcapoga

['aelkapoga].

alcatraz

alfalfa

/

34

alcatraz n [Alcatraz, the penitentiary]

marble game: see quot. cl970 Wiersma Marbles Terms Cleveland OH, Alcatraz

(

1

villages

...

A circle 3

surrounded by a trench 2 to 3 inches wide and 2 to 3 inches deep; a shooter marble is rolled through the ditch toward a target marble in the center of the circle.

to 6 feet in diameter

954) Gregg Commerce 153 NM, The belles of the ranchos and have a disgusting habit of besmearing their faces with the crimson juice.of a plant or fruit called alegria, which is not unlike blood. 1848 (1855) Ruxton Life Far West 192 SW, Coated with cosmetic alegria an herb, with the juice of which the women of Mexico hideously bedaub their faces. 1947 (1976) Curtin Healing Herbs 24, Alegria Amaranthus paniculatus was brought into this region by the Spaniards. 1968 Adams Western Words, Alegria Pigweed, an herb used as a cosmetic; The leaves can be chewed or squeezed to produce a

1844

A

is

—

.

alchemy

usu attrib Also pronc-spp accumy, achemy, alcamy, alchymy, alcomy, alcumy, alkomy, occomy [OED 3 *1 812 'Obs. ] arch metal resembling brass. 1857 New Haven (Colony) Records 4 CT, Twelve alcumy 1645 in 1914 Essex Inst. Coll. 50.336 eMA, Dozen alcamy

n,

alchimy,

—

alchemy A mixed 1638

in

spoones. spoones,

'

'

908 Mayflower Descendant 10.39 MA, I give two alchymy spoones. 1689 in 1904 Manwaring Digest CT Probate 1.469, The inventory of William Hooker [included] 1-2 doz. accumy spoons. 1714 (1879) S. Sewall Diary 2.419 MA, I presented my Son and daughter with 6 Alchimy spoons. 1 899 (1912) Alcamy, alcomy, alkomy, ocGreen VA Folk-Speech 61, Achemy comy. A mixed metal used for utensils, a modification of brass. 3s.

4d.

1651 in

my Daughter Jane

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

bright-red juice.

alewife n Usu |'el,waif, 'el,waif], infreq |'ael-|; esp in CT I'el.wop, 'el.wop, -(h)wap|; rarely |'el,wai| Also sp ailwife, alewhap, alewop, ellwfhjop, elI wife, el wife, el wop For arch spp and addit varr see DAE and LANE Map 233 [Orig uncert; perh ale + wife (see quot 1674), or perh an Engl dial fish name (dEDD alley3 OED alike): once thought to be derived from an Amlnd term; discussion in 1945 AmSp 20.107] chiefly C Atl, Atl, Gt Lakes See ,

N

also alefish, old wife

Any of various

fish

generally of the Atlantic coast such as round

pompano, a pilchard (Harengula pensacolx), or menhaden, but

alder bird n

=goldfinch (here: Spinus tristis). 1966 DARE (Qu. Q14) Inf ME22, Wild canary

fish of the herring family (Alosa pseudoharengus) used commercially for oil and in feed products. This last is also called big-eyed herring, blueback herring, branch herring, gaspereau,

esp a .

.

alder bird.

alderita See agarita

alderman n Also alderman's belly Nth somewhat old-fash Cf

kyack, river herring, sawbelly, skipjack, spring herring. 1633 in 1855 New Plymouth Colony Records 1.17, Whereas

corporation

God

An

the place appointed for the town of New Plymouth.

enlarged abdomen.

Got an 1934Farrell Young Manhood 394 Chicago IL, Slob Lonigan! alderman. Alderman on your gut, and couldn't even get yourself a decent girl. Slob! 1950 WELS (An oversize stomach) 1 Inf, seWI, An oversize stomach) Infs Alderman. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. X53a, .

.

.

.

—

MA13, NY105, Alderman; MA72, Alderman [used] in the old days; WI33, Alderman's belly; (Qu. X53b, An oversize stomach, .from drinking) Inf

alderman

A

WI33, Alderman's

belly. [All Infs old]

chains n

in

[1890 Farmer-Henley Slang 1.29/2, An alderman in chains; i.e., a and garnished with sausages. The latter are said what to be emblematical of the gold chain worn by the civic dignitary then about the stuffing?] 1954 Forbes Rainbow 342 NEng, Tite would be regulating the heat in the brick oven so it would be just right at midnight which is the time to pop in "the alderman in chains" as we called our turkeys, because of the link sausages over them.

—

—

DARE (Qu. R4) Inf PA58, Aldermite only a short time.

1967

n, also attrib [Reversal

—

after they get wings, they

1

.

Home

['olta^taeg]

of tag alder]

Sth

.

remedies

.for constipation) Inf old-fash. [Infs Black]

—

.

VA41, Alder

tag tea

region.

1934 Sun (Baltimore a roof rat

MD)

.

.

.

16 Jan 22/3

The "Aleck" and

were long-tailed rodents Arthur explained.

(Hench Coll.), In the next an "aleck." The "Aleck"

.

.

.

the black rat, the trappers explained,

"Alecks are the smartest of them

DE4, ['el.waivz]; ME 10, Alewife; VA79, Bunker = [are] fry of fish, minnow-like, DC2, ['el.waiz] of water, making it ripple; ME22, Alewives; (Qu. PI 4)

and

oil;

.

.

—

.

.

.

DARE Tape VA1 12,

['el.waivz];

NJ67,

['el.wai].

MA

alewife bird n

=Wilson's snipe. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 157 MA, Nuttall (1834) speaks of its [Gallinago delicatajbeing known in the vicinity of Cambridge, Mass., as the alewife bird, "from its arrival with the shoals of that fish." 1925 Wilson's snipe. 1.391, Gallinago delicata (\928)Forbush Birds Audubon 39.446 MA, Wilson 's alewife-bird. 1955 Other names:

MA

.

.

.

.

MA

.

snipe. Alewife Bird.

alewop See

alewife

A ten-dollar bill. [Ref to portrait of Hamilton on the bill] 1967-70 DARE (Qu. U28b) Infs DC 12, IL21, Alexander Hamilton. %2 One's signature. [By confusion or analogy with John Hancock]

1966

DARE (Qu.

DARE (Qu.

alfalfa n, also attrib

P7, Small fish used as bait for bigger fish) Inf VA55,

Alefish.

[MexSpan

An amaranth

(here:

alegria]

JJ13) Inf FL25, Alexander Hamilton.

all,"

alefish n Cfalewife

alegria n

.

used for fertilizer in Reedville plant; MI 123, AleInf VA79, Alewife formerly for dog food; WI48, Alewives; (Qu. P2) Inf MD36, wives some people eat, others use commercially for oil or manure. Alewife

-0i| or

1970

.

1

rat.

building, closer to the water front, they caught is

.

Alexander Hamilton n

aleck n [smart aleck bumptious person]

A

.

.

aleby trout n obs =burbot. 1884 Goode Fisheries U.S. 1 .236 Gt Lakes, Professor Jordan gives the names "Aleby-trout" and "Mother of Eels" as in use in the Upper Great Lake

.

—

.

.

.

.

alder (Alnus oblongifolia).

.

.

.

close to surface

1966 DARE Tape AL1, Alder tag ['olta'teig] vine; it's full of leaves 1970 that was tea for colds. [Inf Black] and long fuzzy things DARE (Qu. T 5, Swamp trees) Inf VA40, Tag alder or alder tag; (Qu. .

1

.

1970

Smooth

BB22

—

alewife; (Qu. P7) Inf

larva of the alderfly (Sialidae).

.

1674 Josselyn Two Voyages 1 07, The Alewife is like a herrin, but has a bigger bellie therefore called an Alewife. 1765 Rogers N. Amer. 67, In the before-mentioned rivers [Hudson, Mohock] is great plenty offish, such as shad, ail-wives, sturgeon. al870 Chipman (DAE), Alewife is called Alewhap, pi. alewhaps. Conn. 1884 Goode Fisheries U.S. .580, [The river herring] is pre-eminently the "Alewife" of New England; the "Ellwife" or "Ellwhop" of the Connecticut River. 1895 Brown Meadow-Grass 1 1 7 NH, He ketched 'em [=mumps] down to Portsmouth, when he went off on Prothat fool's arrant arter elwives. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT, Alewives, nounced commonly elwops. 1907 DN 3. 87 seNH, Ellwives are cheap Names for now. 1939 LANE Map 1 .233, Alewives, Elwives, Alewops incidentally recorded from a number of informants. the alewife from the little 1947 Coffin Yankee Coast 297, Herring we have, brothers of seraphs that we call sardines and immortalize in olive oil in flat cans, up to the fat seraphs of alewives. (Pronounced L-Y's.) 1965-70 DARE (Qu. P3, Freshwater fish not good to eat) 20 Infs, Alewife. [18 of 20 Infs Gt Lakes]; (Qu. P4) Inf NJ69, Alewife— mostly for fertilizer

aldermite n

alder tag

alewives or herringes in the middest of

1

roast turkey well stuffed

live

ffish (called)

.

roast turkey garnished with link sausages.

The

hath cast the

.

.

SW

Amaranthus paniculatus).

A

l.ael'fassGsl

Usu

l.ael'faelfal;

Pronc-spp

occas

|-fi|,

cf-y; rarely |-0s,

alfalfy, alfalthy

Forms.

DN

4.102 KS, Alfalthy. 1928 Ruppenthal Coll. KS, Alfalfy, Large numbers of persons use the -i or -y sound instead of "short Italian a" at the end of words such as: alfalfa, Dora. 1930 AmSp 5.268 Ozarks, The hillman turns the a into y, just as he does

1914

alfalthy

.

.

alfalfa.

35

alforja

like. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. L9b) NJ53, PA 20A'A24, 46 J^lfaiea]; KY58, [.al'faelfi]; (Qu. L9a) Inf DC5, [.ael'faesOa]; (Qu. R30) Inf KY53, [.ael'fjelfi] beetle. 1968 DARE Tape IN 3, Alfalfa [.ael'faelfi].

the final a in soda, extra, alfalfa and the

KY86, LA8, MI7

Infs

U

07,

1

1

B 1

Senses.

Tobacco, joe

1940 AmSp 1 5.335 Lincoln NE, Tobacco is the weed, hay, corn-shucks [etc]. 1960 Wentworth - Flexner Slang, Alfalfa ing tobacco. Underworld use. Obs. .

.

.

.

.

joe 1950 Western Folkl. 9.158 falfa. Dried spinach.

.

.

alfalfa,

Smok-

2 See quot.

cCA ["Mountaineering

alforche, alforga, alforge, alforka,

A

alguacil n Also sp alguazil

alfarge, alfarky,

saddlebag; see also quot 1932.

DN

might have been stuffed into 'alforjas,' which were wide, leathern or canvas bags hanging from the crosses on the saddle's top. 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms 9 1 Alforjas, is, in fact, commonly interpreted as "saddlebags." But it has been used also to designate a leather container not of saddle-bag nature. Alforjas is not nearly so commonly used, even by those whose borrowings from Spanish are most extensive, as is the English "saddle-bags." 1936 Adams Cowboy Lingo 48, The wide leathern or canvas bags, one on either side of a 'pack-saddle' and hanging from the crosses on the saddle's top, were called 'alforki.' This was a Spanish word which suffered much from American spelling, having been forced to appear as 'alforge,' 'alforka,' 'allforche,' and many other forms. 1942 Berrey-Van den BarkAmer. Slang9\5J, [Western slang] Saddle bag. Allforche, alforche, alforge, alforka, alforki. 1958 AmSp 33.268 eWA,^//br^w5[aerforkis] A packsaddle; a corruption by folk etymology of the Spanish alforja, saddlebag. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Alfarky A mule or horse pack Unknown to latter day loggers and woodsmen; and many an old timer who has lost a rasslin' match with mules and alfarkies is also glad to forget the word.

v

usu with out or away: To excuse oneself speciously. 1917 Collier's 130ct 16/1 sCA, I ain't trying to alibi: it was a solid bone play. 1926 ( 927) Black You Can Win 3 CA, I am not lugging in the fact to alibi myself away from anything. 1963 Hohn Dutchman on Brazos 37 TX, I alibied out of it by deciding to wait and see how Mama reacted. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. 1132, To manage some way to shift the responsibility: "He said it wasn't his fault and tried to ") Inf CA174, Alibi out; FL38, NC45, Alibi out of it. 2 To hedge; to avoid an issue. 1967 DARE (Qu. JJ45, "We tried to pin him down, but he just kept ") Infs OH5, PA39, Alibiing. 't

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

3 To malinger. Cf alibi day 1968-69 DARE (Qu. BB27, sick alibi

.

you'd say he's

.

)

When somebody

Infs IL43,

DARE (Qu.

P6, Other kinds of worms) Inf

OH87,

Algamites.

n, also attrib

Also sp algarroba, rarely algarola

[See

SW, HI

1 (here: Prosopis glandulosa and P. juliflora). 1896 Bot. Gaz. 22.480 AZ, Prosopis juliflora 1920 algarola. Saunders Useful Wild Plants 61 SW, The Spanish term algarroba applied in Mexico and our Southwest to the Mesquit bean, is a case of

=mesquite

.

word used

.

Spain for the carob tree. 1934 Frear Lowell & Abigail 1 16 HI, A picturesque symbol of the time [=1837] is the planting of the first algaroba tree. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. Bl 12, When the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Mexico and the Southwest they called the mesquite "algaroba", as it reminded them of the closely related carob tree of their native land. The name algaroba is often used for mesquite in this country, and is universal in Hawaii, but is a misapplication of a Spanish-Arabic plant name. 1967 DARE Tape HI2, What we call kiawe or algaroba [aeljaroba]. 1967 DARE (Qu. Used for charcoal. fed to ani120, Beans grown around here) Inf HI1 1, Algaroba mals; (Qu. T 1 6, What kinds of trees are 'special around here) Inf Hill, Algaroba [aeljiroba].

transference, algarrobo being the

.

in

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

n, also attrib

Also sp algerado

SW

Cf agarita

=granjeno. 1937 Parks Plants TX 25, Celt is pallida a bush-like shrub which which are collected for jellies and in bears numerous berries many places sold under the name of algeredo. 1942 Friend Plants Rio Grande 53, Celtis pallida. Granjeno These fruits are used in making .

.

.

.

.

.

.

'Algerado'

.

.

jelly.

algerita, algireta See agarita

day n joe Cf alibi 3

n

alicia

An

erect, hairy, yellow-flowered perennial plant

(Chapmannia

floridana) of the pea family native to Florida. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 730, Alicia Dry pinelands, peninsular] Fl[orid]a. 1942 Amer. Joint Comm. Horticult. Nomenclature Std. Plant Names 108, Chapmannia Alicia Florida A[licia]. 1953 Greene -Blomquist Flowers South 60, Alicia, Chapman's pea (Chapmannia floridana) Grows in dry pinewoods, peninsular Florida. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

and look at one's saddle v phr For varr see quots somewhat old-fash Come in and sit a spell an invitation to stop and talk, and

alight

—

perhaps to share a meal. 1912 DA' 3.570 wIN, Used only in the expression, "Won't you alight and look at your saddle?" 1937 DN 6.62 csTX, His cheery greeting to a horseman to light and look at his saddle is about the most hospitable invitation to dinner to be encountered. 1969-70 DARE (Qu. 1115, When somebody is passing by and you want him or her to stop and talk a " ") Infs MA58, WV 1 6, Alight and look to while, you might say, 1

your alii

beast. [Both Infs over 75 years old.]

n

|a'li(')i|

[Haw

algodon n [Span algodon cotton] southwestern species of cottonwood. 1878 Beadle Western Wilds 76 TX, A little grove of algodones beyond

HI

ali'i]

A noble

person, a chief. 1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords

culture that exact translation

is

3,

difficult

Terms

so rooted in the native

or impossible

.

.

.

[include:] poi,

Ibid 8, Ali'i [a-li'i] Properly, one of tabu rank; one of the ruling caste of early Hawaii. More recently, a Hawaiian chief of high rank. 1951 AmSp 26.20, Alii (chief). Ibid 117, They must inevitably

pa'iai,

ali'i.

.

.

.

have come upon the word ali'i, which is used indiscriminately in the Hawaiian language to mean 'chief,' 'chiefess,' 'king,' and 'queen.' 1955 Day HI People 19, The young chief. had already assumed a leading role among the Hawaiian alii, or nobility. 1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 86 [In a list of Hawaiian words common in Hawaiian English], Ali'i. .

alisier

n [Fr alisier whitebeam (Sorbus aria)]

chiefly

LA

Either black haw 1 or a hawthorn. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 339, Viburnum prunifolium Common names Alisier (La.). 1911 Century Diet., Alisier .

A

be

to

loggers: payday. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 2 Pacific NW, Alibi day— Pay day in camp. This was the time when loggers suddenly developed toothache or thought up some other alibi which required a trip to town. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes.

.

'

algeredo

pretends

Alibiing.

alicran See alacran

algarite See agarita

quots 1920, 1937]

VA18,

Among

.

talgamite n [Prob var of hellgrammite]

algaroba

hist

1

1

[1841 Stephens Incidents Central Amer. 1.88, And when she saw that our servant had pineapples in his alforgas, she asked why he brought them.] 1892 1.187 TX, Alfarga, -s, alforjas: saddlebags. Used almost exclusively in the plural. The forms alforge, alfarge, etc., are also used in Texas. 1922 Rollins Cowboy 155, All or a part of the parcels

1968

now

constable or justice of the peace. 1888 Wallace Land of Pueblos 42 NM, AZ, The Alguacil, orSheriff[of a pueblo village], carries out the orders of the Governor, and is overseer and director of the public works. 1931 Amer. Mercury 27>.22\ NM,Sosa then appointed from among the Indians themselves an alcalde and an alguazil, which were two essential officers of a Spanish village.

.

.

SW

[Span]

A

alguiritte See agarita

West Cf sawbuck

[Span alforja]

1977 Watts Diet. Old West, Algodon ... In the Southwest this word for cotton was sometimes applied to the cottonwood tree.

Vocabulary"], Al-

alforkus, allforche

alforki,

alisier

the hacienda.

alibi

n Also Americanized and sp alfarga,

alforja

/

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Creole F[rench] The stag-bush. Viburnum prunifolium. [Louisiana]. 1931 Read LA French 2, Alisier Blackhaw ( Viburnum rufidulum Raf). 1937 Torreya 37. 101, Viburnum rufidulum Alisier, the .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

aliso

alkomy

/

fruit alise,

36

Louisiana; in Missouri these

names are applied to either black

=sycamore (here: Platanus racemosa). CA 1860 Star (Los Angeles CA) 22 Sept 2/3 (Western Folk!.

when you

7.4),

Over

all

spreads the mammoth tree known as the "Aliso." 19.48 Pacific Discovery July- Aug 31/1 (DA), The name El Aliso is the Spanish -Californian for the sycamore or plane tree which is a conspicuous feature in the canyons and along the watercourses on the rancho. 1948 Western

1979

Folkl. 7.4, Aliso ... in California, frequently a sycamore.

Checklist

more 2

.

An

.

.

Trees

U.S.

Other

Platanus

202,

It is only where small streams have run distance across the plain that they are, in local phrase, 'alkalied.' 1907 White Nights 126, "The trouble with you fellows," he proffered, "is that you're so plumb alkalied you don't know the real thing

AZ

aliso n [Span "alder tree"] 1

1870 Beadle Utah 444 (DA),

some

(Viburnum) or red (Crataegus) haws.

common names

.

.

racemosa

.

.

Little

California

syca-

aliso (Spanish).

alder.

1942 Lillard Desert Challenge 140, Water was an A cure for alkalied cattle was a plug of tobacco between two slices of bacon. [DARE Ed: Alkalied is a misnomer: "alkali disease" in cattle is now known to be caused by a toxic alcohol found in see it."

ever-present problem

.

.

.

certain plants.]

2 Experienced in living in the West. Cf alkali 2 1936 Adams Cowboy Lingo 27, A man old in the ways of the West was sometimes called a 'rawhide,' and was said to be 'bone-seasoned' or 'alkalied,' the latter term meaning he was acclimated to the country. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West, Alkalied Said of a man who was a veteran of the big dry country much as in the desert fighting of World War II one would remark that a man had sand behind his ears. .

.

1908 Ingersoll Century Hist, [xiii] sCA, Glossary 1948 Western Folkl. 7.4, Aliso. An alder.

.

.

Aliso, Alder tree.

.

alive adj

or fruit: retaining freshness. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech 63, Bread made from newly ground meal, being soft and elastic, instead of dry and crumbly, is said to be alive. 1947 Daily Progress (Charlottesville VA) 4 Feb 6/1 (Hench Coll.), Instead of joining the growing number of frozen food producers, Martin went up 20 degrees or so [above freezing] to box vegetables with a new "chilling process" that allows them to be picked vine-ripe and stored "alive" and fresh until the housewife uses them.

n

alkali 1

I'selks.lail

freq attrib:

West from the ashes of plants; a for agriculture by the presence of such

type of soil rendered unfit salt; also, a region where the soil is of this kind. (References are often indistinguishable.) 1848 Clayton Emigrants' Guide 3, Emigrants have lost many of their teams in the neighborhood of the Alkali lakes, in consequence of not knowing the distance from any one of these lakes to good water. 1869 was Bowles New West 275, The alkali dust, dry with a season's sun, for miles. thick and constant. Ibid 276, Bare alkali plains stretch out 1879 Twain Sketches 272 NV, That awful five days' journey, through alkali, sagebrush, peril of body, and imminent starvation. 1928 Wister Virginian 78, Sunrise found the white stage lurching eternally on across the alkali. 1951 Grant Cowboy Encycl. 1 5, Alkali dust opens bleeding cuts on the face. Old-time cowboys rubbed canned tomatoes on the cuts and also on the lips of the horses after they had drunk the water. 1966 DARE (Qu. C31) Inf ND3, ['aslkaJai]. 1971 Bright Word Geog. CA & NV 164, Badlands /unfit for cultivation/ alkali + (flats), (bed), .

.

.

.

.

[Scattered usage,

.

of Infs].

3 See quot. [Absol, from alkali poisoning] 1971 Green Village Horse Doctor 32 TX (as of 940s), One of the other constant questions was, "What do you know about alkali?" This was the local name for livestock that were poisoned by eating goldenrod in the 1

wintertime.

buttercup n

A buttercup

1 (here: Ranunculus cymbalaria). 1953 Nelson Plants Rocky Mt. Park 71, Alkali buttercup or shore buttercup ... It grows in moist meadows, especially on alkali or salty soil, and has been found in Horseshoe Park and along Cow Creek. 1966 Barnes-Jensen Diet. UT Slang, Alkali Buttercup a name often given to the Strawberry or Trailing Buttercup (Ranunculus cymbalaria) which grows along ditches. .

Distichlis spicata.

Grass; Akaline

cordgrass n [From the

=cordgrass (here: Spartina

habitat]

.

West

1950 Hitchcock Manual Grasses 5 1 3, Spartina gracilis 1956 St. John Flora SE WA 58, Spartina gracilis

.

.

.

.

Alkali cordAlkali Cord

Grass.

alkalied adj West, esp 1

889 Vasey Ag. Grasses 6 1

,

Distichlis

maritima

(Salt

A

perennial grass, growing ... in alkathroughout the arid districts of the Rocky Mountains. 1918

Grass) ...

.

Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific

.

.

NW 636, Alkali s[altgrass]

.

.

.

Dfis-

tichlisj stricta.

2 A grass of the genus Puccinellia. Also called goose grass For other names of var spp see salt meadow grass, sea speargrass

1940 Gates Flora [sic]

KS

136, Nuttall Alkaligrass. Moist usually alkalin

ND

Plants 57, Alkali-grass Comusually in scattered tufts at edges of ponds or on saline, wet flats.

or saline

mon,

soil.

1950 Stevens

.

Rocky Mts

Saturated with, or affected by, alkali, usu by having drunk

alkaline water.

1858 Stone Put's Golden 53, 1 joined a train and travelled on,/ And all seemed satisfied,/ Until our grub was nearly gone,/ And I got alkalied.

.

.

1967 Braun Monocotyledoneae 75, Puccinellia Alkali Grass. About 30 species of temperate and cold regions, chiefly of saline habitats. 1970 in 1983 Carleton Coll., Alkali grass = Puccinelia [sic] airoides. West. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific 664. .

.

.

NW

A death camas (here: Zigadenus elegans). 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.102, Zygadenus elegans .. alkali-grass, Minn. 1950 Gray-Fernald Manual of Botany 427, Alkaligrass Prairies, meadows and calcareous rocks. 1960 Correll Plants TX 38 White camas, alkali-grass ... On wet ledges and seepage in 3

.

.

1

.

,

canyons.

alkaline grass See alkali grass

1

sacaton See sacaton

alkali

alkali saltgrass See alkali grass 1

spot n West

alkali

=hardpan

1.

1918 Visher Geog. SD 27, Small gumbo areas, often popularly called "alkali spots," are found here and there even in the glaciated part of the 1948 Ardmoreite (Ardmore OK) 30 Mar 10/2 (DA), Long a state. primary problem to farmers is the appearance of alkali spots after a field has been in cultivation for years. 1966 DARE FW Addit OK42, Alkali spots Hard spots in a field where nothing will grow. .

.

weed n

alkali

A plant of the genus

SW

Cressa. 1913 Pacific Coast Avifauna 9.26 CA, Imagine a salt-grass pasture, the odor of alkali weeds, and half a dozen long-legged, black and saline white waders. 1959 Munz-Keck CA Flora 458, Alkali weed 1967 DARE (Qu. and alkaline places, mostly below 4000 ft. Other weeds) Inf C04, Alkali weed. S21, 1

.

.

gracilis).

grass.

1

[sic]

Visher Geog. SD 90, On the somewhat alkaline soil of many "blow-outs" and other undrained depressions, alkali grass replaces wheat grass. 1940 Gates Flora KS 126, Distichlis stricta Alkaligrass, Saltgrass. 1973

.

alkali

saltgrass (here: Dis-

1870 Pine Beyond the West 376 NV, Our horses recruited with a few blades of alkali grass about the spring. 1889 Century Diet., Alkaligrass ... A name given to several species of grass growing in alkaline localities in the western portions of the United States, especially to

.

.

among 22%

A

tichlis spp).

.

2 A person who lives, usu by choice, in an alkali region. 1904 White Mountains 239, The cave ... is inhabited by an old "alkali" and half a dozen bear dogs. 1907 White AZ Nights 66, A man can do a heap with that much money. And yet an old 'alkali' is never happy anywhere else. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West.

alkali

also alkaline grass, alkali saltgrass:

line soil

A soluble salt obtained

(land), (ground), (soil)

1

.

,

grass n

alkali

Of bread

.

.

2

A

.

.

.

SW

plant of the genus Nitrophila.

1941 Jaeger Wildflowers 48, Alkali-weed. Nitrophila occidentalis Deserts east of the Sierra Nevada; to Ore. and Nev.

3 =yerba mansa.

.

.

.

CA

1911 Century Diet. Suppl, Alkali-weed Californica.

alkomy See alchemy

.

.

The yerba mansa, Anemopsis

37

ad

all

all

preceding the + a singular noun: The only, chiefly Sth, Midi 1908 DN 3.286 eAL, wGA, This is all the coat I've got. 1915 DN4. 80 VA, All the friend I've got. 1946 PADS 6.4 neNC, [Reported heard] "That's all the pencil I have." Occasional among children. 1949 PADS 16 CO, This is all the doll I have. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, 1

1

.

1

That's

1

all

.

.

the brother I've got.

—

Don't pick that rag up,

it's all

grease.

Ibid

nwMA, My

hands

is all

ceMA,

All gudgeon [means] greasy. Gudgeon is the grease end of the axle mixed with iron filings. 1976 DARE File cnMA, My hands could be all butter, all flour, all paint "all" anything that sticks or clings. Not, I think, "all milk," "all water." 1979 Stegner Recapitulation 34 UT, "I was all muddy!" He said once more, "I'm all mudr

Ibid

grease.

comes

off the

—

.

all

anyhow adv phr

[PaGer all from Ger alle all gone] chiefly PA, also N Cent See Map Additquotsin 1944 ADD. See also all anymore Of quantifiable nouns, esp food or drink: consumed, used up,

gone. Of persons: dead. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 5 PA, A servant will say, "The potatoes is all any more," or she will sav simply, "They's all." 1892 KS Univ. Qrlv. 1 .95 KS, IN, PA, All: all gone, as, The corn is all. 1914 DN 4.157 sePA. 1916 DN 4.271 NE, PA, MI, KS. 1916 DN 4.337 scPA, OH, sNE. 1928 AmSp 3.463 ncPA. 1931 AmSp 7.19 swPA. 1937 AmSp 12.287 cnVA, The Shenandoah German may say, 'The salt is all,' meaning the salt is all gone. 1939 Aurand Quaint Idioms 22 sePA, The ginger-ale is all but the soda is yet. Sort o' far-fetched but one can hear it rendered thus. 1941 AmSp 16.21 sIN. 1942 Warnick Garrett Co. (as of 1 900 - 1 8 ). 1 942 Greene Papa is All [A Comedy ") 10 Infs, In Three Acts]. 1950 WELS ("The potatoes are c,sWI, All. [Marked German by 3 Infs, colloquial by 1 .] Ibid, 1 Inf, seWI, There used to be lots offish here, but now they're all. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. LL17, There's no more of something: "The potatoes are ") 34 Infs, chiefly PA, also N Cent, All; (Qu. H74b) Inf PA203, The coffee must be all. .

and every See each and every

OEDS anyhow

[Cf

"in

random

fashion"]

1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 5.5. In confusion. All anyhow. 1950 Moore Candlemas Bay 38 ME, Guy came to his feet in a horrified scramble, all anyhow, pulling himself up by the boat's cheese-

anymore

all

=all adj 2

1859

.

( 1

MD

adj phr

[Redund:

+

2

all adj

anymore]

PA, NJ

.

968) Bartlett A mericanisms

among

sion in Pennsylvania

5,

All any more.

A common expres-

mean

"all gone." Thus a "The potatoes is all any more." 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 578, All any more is a Pennsylvania vulgarism The waiter at the hotel will say, "The pies are all any more, Sir," meaning that there are no more. 1902 (1968) Clapin Americanisms 12, All any more ... A Pennsylvania vulgarism signifying "all gone." This cur-

the illiterate to

servant will say,

.

.

.

.

ious piece of jargon

1944

ADD sePA,

is

New

also frequently heard in

any more'

'It's all

all

arms and legs See

all

around adv phr S Atl

all

= The

train has

.

.

.

cl940

Jersey.

in

gone by.

thumbs

Near, close to. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 344 nFL, I come all around courtin' her, 'fore I married your Ma. 1950 PADS 14.11 SC, He came all around winning ... He was all around passing out. 1964 Will Hist. Okeechobee xi FL, Come all around to nearly succeed.

—

^all-around n

=runaround. 1967

DARE

—

.

all

In a confused or disorderly manner.

.

2

adj

all

and each,

rind.

by a noun: Covered with used esp in ref to substances that stick or cling; see quot 1976. chiefly NEng Cfall over adv phr 2 1927 Harper's Mag. Nov 673/1 CT, Hang on to 'em, idiot; don't you dare let 'em get all sand again. 1931-33 LANE Worksheets cnCT, 2 followed

that

all

1

i

all-day singing

/

)

Inf

(Qu. JJ45,

LA 12,

We

him down, but he just kept

tried to pin

Giving us the all-around.

around one's elbow See go around thumb

one's elbow to get to one's

all

at

all

once adv phr [Cf OED

at

once

1,

"at one stroke

.

.

Obs"]

All of a sudden; suddenly.

1929

.

AmSp

5.122

ME, One who

died suddenly "died

all at

once."

both pron [Perh an African caique: see all two etym note] SC Gullah See also both two

all

chiefly coastal

Both. 1927 Adams Congaree 8 cSC [Black], White folks an' niggers, all both of them, an' all lined up 'side of de road. 1955 PADS 23.4 1 SC, Forms characteristic of the entire South, such as all two, all both 'both'.

1966-67 DARE(Qu. LL21, Twothings.

"Do you want the red one or of them. ") Infs SC9. 19, 26. All both [FW: in conv]; SCI 1, 21, All both [Reported heard but not used]; SC24, countrified but still in 45, All both [Resp sugg by FW]; SC65, All both use; going out of use; SC44, All both kids would use this. 1961 DARE FW Addit SC, If you hurt a snake so he can't go, a green snake or doctor snake will be there shortly to help him and all both of them gone. .

the blue one?" "I want

—

—

all

by one's lone(some) See

all

change places n

A

one's lone

children's game: =fruit basket upset.

1954 Harder all

all (of)

Coll.

cwTN.

clear exclam

=all (in) free.

n

all

The whole;

DARE

1965

patience -all

entirety.

.

.

,

(Qu.

"Well,

GG22a, When you have come to the end of your ") Inf OKI, That's the all of it. that's the

DARE (Qu.

come

(home)

in

EE15)

Infs

CT42. PA66,

Used

as a pluralizing suffix with a personal, relative, or interrog-

ative

pronoun: see

(free) See all (in) free

all-day(er) n [Absol,

from all-day sewing, all-day

I-all, they-all, we-all, you-all, you-all's;

what-

where-all, who-all, why-all

An

along of See along of

1

all-and-all n joe 1

One's 1970

wife.

DARE ")

"/ have (Qu. AA22, InfNJ64, All-and-all. .

.

to

go down and pick up

2 One's best clothes.

1970

rain, etc]

Cf

activity or occurrence expected to last

DARE(Qu. W39)

Inf CT43, All-and-all.

my

an entire day.

1931 AmSp 7.19 swPA, All-day sewing at a church. "The ladies will have an all-day on Tuesday." 1968 DARE (Qu. B25, Anyjoking names around here for a very hard rain?) Inf NJ3 All-dayer. 1

all

All clear.

all-nighter

pron suff

all,

all

1968-70

,

all-day meeting n Cf big meeting 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, All-day meeting. In the summer-time in the country; there was a sermon in the morning; rest in the middle of the day for dinner; then service again; in the Baptist and Methodist churches. all-day singing n Also singing-all-day; similarly all-night singing Sth

day with one, be

all

all-ee all-ee

/

oxen

(all in)

free

A festive day-long church gathering; in conjunction with dinner on the ground. 1909 DN 3.370 eAL, wG A, Singing, (all day) A gathering of singers to spend the day in practising. Dinner is served on the ground, and a .

.

"singin'-all-day-and-dinner-on-the-grounds" conventions which he had observed in Texas. 1942 (1960) Robertson Red Hills 160 SC, We

by and go off to camp meetings and all-day singings 1954 PADS 21.19 GA, An all-day religious songfest with picnic lunch on the grounds All-day singing is a custom of long standing ... An all-night singing was recently reported from Florida. cl965 Thompson Coll. Birmingham AL (as of 1920s), All day sayngin with dinner own the groun(d)s, whiskey's in the bushes an the devil's all aroun. 1967 DARE (Qu. FF1 ) Inf TX33, All-day singings and eating on .

and

.

lay the crop

fish fries.

.

.

1967-68 DARE (Qu. EE1 5) Inf HI4, All-ee all-ee auction [sksan] come free; CA37, All-ee all-ee auction free; CA87, All-ee all-ee auction

out

1980

free-free-free.

.

general good time for all is the order of the day. 1933 (1965) Jackson White Spirituals 3 sAppalachians, [He] described one of the fasola

can

38

.

the ground.

was

day with one, be v phr

To

chiefly

NEast

old-fash

all-ee all-ee out(s) in free all's out('s)

1836 Knickerbocker 8.205 NY, Marlinspike now swore that it was all day with him; and he might as well content himself. 1840 Haliburton Clockmaker (3d ser) 204 NEng, Corcoran, the head of our sect is in jail. They are a-goin' to give him a birth in the states prison. It's all day with him now; and I must say it kinder sarves him right. 1856 Whitcher Bedott Papers 328 NY, if 'Daddy-long-legs' once gets his dander up it'll be all day with the parson; for some how or other, he's contrived to git considerable influence in the parish. 1889 Munroe Golden Days 153 CA, If you hadn't toed the mark, good and square, 'twould have been all day with me. .

.

.

"Ally, Ally,

(come)

in free

exclam For varr

see quots

chiefly Inland Nth,

Varr of

West See Map

—

OR1,

come in free; WY4, All-ee all-ee outs in; NY234, NV3, All-ees all-ees outs in free; DC2, IL43, MI44,

All-ee all-ee outs

NE6, OH65. TX68, WA22, All-ee all-ee (or allie-allie) oops in free; 74, MI44, Allie allie opes in free; IL27, 47, OH93, WI47, Allie allie otts (or oats) in free; IL 100, All-ee all-ee osh in free; MI 8, TX88, All-ee all-ee ump (in) free. 1977-78 Foster Lexical Variation 79 NJ, Allie 1

1 1

allie

out in free

.

1

.

[Inf].

.

.

tall

call,

See also allsie allsie outs in free 1950 WELS (Games in which every player hides except "it") 1 Inf, cs WI, Hide and go seek ["It" calls out] to get the players back after one is caught, ['oli 'oli] outs in free. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE15) 39 Infs, chiefly wPA, nwIL, and west of Missip R, All-ee all-ee (or allie allie) outs in free; IA38, KS15, MT4, NY184, RI15, All-ee all-ee's out(s) in free; CA9, 14, All-ee all-ee all outs (in) free; MN30, All-ee all-ee out come in;

CA

be a hopeless situation for someone.

any more people, he would

auction free!"

Allie allie out in free; all

DARE File sCA (as of c 195 5), After the person who

"it" couldn't find

.

ease adv phr

Without 1969

difficulty; easily.

DARE (Qu.

KK42,

.

.

")InfKY36,

'He could do that

All ease.

allee n [Fr allee path, passage]

A

tree-lined

promenade: see quot and cf alley n

1 ,

alameda.

1941 FWP Guide LA 685, Allee ... A double row of trees leading from the road or river to a plantation house. (all) in free exclam Usu foli, 'ali|, less freq |'aeli| by pronc-sp allie) For var phrr see quots (Note: the final vowel sound in all-ee is added for audibility and rhythm; for similar usage in Engl see 1959 (1967) Opie Lore Schoolchildren 143.) chiefly Nth See Map See also Ole Ole Olson all in

all-ee all-ee (repr here

free

oxen

1

Nth, All-ee

all-ee all in free; 9 Infs, chiefly

NEast, Allie

allie in free:

PA2 3, WA22, Allie allie in come free; IA34, All-ee all-ee all-ee in free; OH37, All-ee all-ee alls in free; C026, All-ee all-ee alts comes in free; MA64, All-ee in free; WI77, Allie all in free; MA71, Allie allie; CA1 12, 1

come free; IL1 16, Allie allie 1977-78 Foster Lexical Variation 79 NJ, Allie allie in free (20 responses), allie allie in come free (2), and allie allie in clear (1).

Allie allie all's in free; IL97, Allie allie all free.

all-ee all-ee auction free free-free

Varr of all-ee

exclam Also ~come out free, ~freeoxen (all in) free sCA, HI

all-ee

(all in)

of all-ee all-ee out(s) CA See Map In the childen's

game of hide and seek: =all (in) free. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. EE 5) 25 Infs. chiefly Nth, All-ee all-ee in free; 20

In the children's Infs,

all-ee all-ee

chiefly

game of hide and

DARE (Qu.

1965-70

free exclam For varr see quots

in free]

EE15)

1

1

[Var

West and Gt Lakes, esp

seek: =all (in) free.

Upper

Infs, chiefly

MW,

CA,

All-ee

West, esp CA, Allie allie oxen free; CA59, 107, 182, 190, 207, MT1, PA185, Allie allie ox in free; AL41, CA82, 93, IN39, PA7, All-ee all-ee oxen free; UT7, 1 2, Allie allie oxen all in free; CA 169, FL5, All-ee all-ee oxen all in free; OR 10, All-ee ox in free; CA94, M026, Allie all(ie) ax in free; VT16, All-ee all-ee ex in free; IL9, 1972 Allie allie awk in free; UT10, Allie allie oxford all in free. Yesterday 1.4.28 WI, You would start walking down the alley very Thereupon, you both Then you spotted someone carefully raced back toward the telephone pole and the first one there yelled: " Alle, 1977-78 Foster Lexical Variation 79 NJ, Allie allie alle, oxen free!" oxen free .12 [Infs]. 1980 DARE File csNE, Ally ally oxen free. all-ee

ox

in free; 10 Infs, chiefly

.

.

.

.

.

.

]

39

alleesamee advphr Also ~ in Dutch

allee

[Imit of presumed Pidgin

joe

English]

quot 1945.

909 Ware Passing Engl. 6/2 NYC,

.

appeared that they were not quite married, but that they lived together allee samee. 1897 A'.V Univ. Qrly. 6.85 KS, Allee samee( sometimes "alleesamee in Dutch'): all the same, for emphasis; nevertheless. 1929 Ruppenthal Coll. KS, Allee nevertheless ... In imitation of Chinese brogue. 1945 Colsamee cord Sea Language 22 ME, Cape Cod MA, Long Island NY, Allee samee. Like. "Allee samee hell you will!" Pidgin English, brought home by sailors.

1883

in

.

1

It

.

.

Alleghany fringe See Allegheny vine

Allegheny hellbender See hellbender Allegheny oilnut See oilnut 2 Allegheny

A

n now

skiff

.

NY226. OH87, PA134, Alley(s). 2 A passage between rows of planted vegetation, 1833 Silliman Man. Sugar Cane 17 (DA), There is

chiefly

Alle-

gheny River.

.

made

.

same manner and distance

apart, and changed into the alleys of the preceding one. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 64, Alley In a garden between a row of flowers. 1946 PADS 6.4 ceNC, Alley The space between two rows of corn, cotton, etc.; the sloping, concave area made by plowing out the middle or balk. The space is called an alley after the crop 1949 Turner Africanisms 283 eSC, From top of the bed you is laid by. bring the grass all down to the alley till all the land done fix that way.

potatoes, are

all

in the

reversed every other crop; that

is,

.

.

.

1826 PA, Then there are what the people call 'covered sleds,' or ferry-flats, and Allegany-skiffs, carrying from eight to twelve tons. 1941 Baldwin Keelboat Age 42 (as of c 1800), The smaller skiffs, and this name was also applied occasionally to the larger bateaux, usually with the prefix 'Allegheny' or

bateaux were sometimes called

'Mackinaw,' which probably had

little

to

do with the

origin of the

Allegheny vine n Also sp Alleghany

~

also Alleghany fringe

eUS fringe 1.

1850 Cooper Rural Hours 170 cNY, The Alleghany vine, with its pale pink clusters and very delicate foliage, is very common in some places. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 24, Climbing fumitory, Alleghany fringe, Adlumia cirrhosa. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 16, Mountain-fringe, woodfringe, Alleghany-fringe, Alleghany-vine. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 197 CT, Mountain or Wood Fringe. Alleghany or Canary Vine Local or occasional northward in the western half of our area. 1953 Strausbaugh-Core Flora 414, Allegheny Vine. Handsome .

.

slender vines

.

.

.

Easter season

.

.

An empty track

in a railroad yard. 1932 Santa Fe Employes' Mag. 26.2 Jan 34/ 1 A clear track in a yard is 1969 AmSp 44.253 Chian alley. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 33 1 cago IL. ,

when

'alleluia' is

The common wood sorrel 1900 Lyons Plant Names 27

its

sung: see

flowering during the

OED quots

1543

—

1

(Oxalis acetosella).

Alleluia. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 288, White wood-sorrel In some places even it is known by the delightful name of "Alleluia." 1932 Country Life 62.67, NC, TN, One of the Appalachian wild plants, known locally as Alleluia, is none other than the White Wood Sorrel. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 2. 1

,

Ofxalis] Acetosella

.

.

.

.

.

allerickstix

Alleyway.

DN

1

adv [See quot

1

890]

.60 Cincinnati all right.

OH, Allerickstix (used in common schools of

E.g. :

allers See always

ago See always-ago adv Cf allee

[Fr allee journey, passage, going, track]

A road of secondary importance, often private chiefly Nth, Midi

also alleyway:

N

1788 (1975) Freneau Poems

&

Misc. Wks. 2.223

C

Atl,

The

article

stipulated expressly, that the alley-way should be sufficient for the passing and repassing of the plaintiff. 1931 7. 1 9 swPA, Alleys.

AmSp

Private lanes or drives.

1968

DARE (QRp99)InfCA71

In the city [small streets used to be] called alleys; there

have the heifers

in the

hay

alley.

8 In logging: see quot. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 2 Pacific NW, Alley— The space between two pockets in a booming ground. A long, narrow float on which the swifter machine [=winch] is placed. 2

Also sp

San Francisco, was no negative

A

1. allie, ally

[Abbr for alabaster

+ -ie 3]

chiefly

Map

playing marble, orig of alabaster and subsequently of glass imitation of alabaster, considered a favorite marble to be used in as a shooter or taw. 1

?obs

—

or unpaved.

I'll

Among loggers:

a covered passage between two buildings. Also called dingle, midway n Cf dogtrot 1956 Sorden-Ebert Logger 's WordsGt Lakes. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo 1 Gt Lakes, NEng, Alley or alley way— The roofed-over space between the kitchen and sleeping quarters where meat and wood were stored. Same as dingle, midway.

7 also alleyway:

NEast See

Qu. "How did you get through examination?" "Allerickstix." Presumably a corruption of German alles richtig, as an equivalent for the English all right. 1892 DN 1.234 KY. 1980 DARE File neOH, Allerick( 1 968) Clapin Americanisms. I heard this used in Akron, Ohio, in an English context, about by a young male, about 14-15 yrs old.

Cincinnati):

6 =driveway.

alley n

All right.

1

.

9 See alleyway

=turnplow. 1949/4m5'p24.106cSC.

alley n

MA

.

.

Allen plow n [?Mfgr's name]

1890

5 also alleyway: A relatively narrow conduit; spec a trough, an eaves trough, or a hay chute. 1950 WELS (What do cows and horses eat out of) 1 Inf, csWI, Feed allev. 1965-70 DARE(Qu.D2%, What hangs below the edge ofthe roof 124, OH78, Alley; (Qu. to carry off rain-water?) Infs FL18, The hole for throwing hay down below) Inf MS66, Alley; OH35, M5,

1955 Stong Blizzard 13 IA,

chiefly sAppalachians

1

.

principally in the Alleghenies.

n [Origin uncert, perh from

alleluia

allers

—

.

WV

1922

1841 Knickerbocker 1 8.52 1 He was busy about the village, penetrating every grog-hole and gambling-alley. 1865 Stowe House & Home 38 NEng, We have been eating in a little dingy den, with a window looking out on a back-alley. 1931 AmSp 7.22 WY, [At Yellowstone Park:] Savage Alley row or street on which employees' cabins are located. 1948 AmSp 23.250 neTX [At North Texas Agricultural College:], Tin one of the parking lots on the campus. Can Alley

.

=mountain

1902

A

narrow lane or back street in a city, often suggesting darkand crime. See DS C 33-35, 1125, and headwords, e.g., hog-pen alley, mortgage alley, pig alley

4

named.

particular boat

stix

.

,

Flint Recollections 14

Ans. used

Atl

ness, poverty

skiff

on or associated with the

shallow-draft cargo boat used

S

great danger of

extend far into the alleys. 1857 in 1969 disturbing the roots, which Turner Cotton Planter's Manual 1 33 eSC, The beds for cotton, corn, and

3

Cf Mississippi

hist

alley

.

.

Alleghany foamflower See foamflower

/

connotation then. They are called lanes now. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. Kinds of unpavedroads)\n(slL4S,9%,PA93,94,A\\ey(s)AQu. N27a. N29, A less important road running back from a main road) Infs IL32, .

All the same; nevertheless; see also

samee

alley-alley

40

all-fired

/

1848 Bartlett Americanisms 7, Alley ... An ornamental marble, used also called in England, a taw. It is by boys for shooting in the ring often made of white marble or of painted clay. 1876 Twain Tom Sawyer 27 MO, I'll give you a marvel. I'll give you a white alley White alley, Jim! And it's a bully taw. 1890 DN 1 .76 NY, NJ. 1958 PADS 29.29 .

.

;

.

WI,

A

shooter...

Alley,

—

.

1965-70

shooter or taw.

2

.

Any

DARE

(Qu.

playing marble.

DN

DC,

Marbles is never used. 1950 csWI, Allies. 1951 PADS 15.65 cwNH(as of 1920s) Alley Glass marble. Commonly this term means merely marble. 1951 Johnson Resp. to PADS 20 DE, (Nicknames for marbles) Allies. 1955 PADS 23.10 1958 PADS 29.29 NJ, PA, WI. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE6b, Small marbles or marbles in general) Infs CT3, MA52, 64, NY 18, Allies; MD12, ['aetaz]; (Qu. EE6c, Cheap marbles) Inf CT1 1, Allies; (Qu. EE6d, Special marInfs, chiefly NEast, Allies; Infs MI44, MA42, Glass allies; bles) 1892

1.219

Allies: marbles.

WELS (Small marbles) .

.

1

1

Inf,

.

1

NY213,

alley-alley n [alley n 2 ]

Cf agate-agate

alley line n In marble play: =starting line, toward which alleys are thrown to begin the game. 1968 DARE (Qu. EE8) Inf MD12, Alley line.

Cf ZXSEE22, 23a =Antony-over n, exclam. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. EE22, The game in which

alley oop(s) n, exclam

.

a EE23a, over

.

.

NYC,

Ally-ally: a

they throw a ball

TX68, Alley-oop; MI67, Alley-oops; (Qu. What do you call out when you throw the ball) Inf TX68,

building) .

Inf

Alley-oop; IL128, Alley-oops

['ali

'ups].

alley-over See alley(-alley)-over

DS EE6a-d

taw n Also ~tor Cf shooting taw and

alley

In marble play: a shooter. (tautological com1955 PADS 23.10 cwTN, Alley taw (-tor, -taw) pound). The offensive marble, or the marble used as a shooter. .

.

[Folk-etym, perh

alley- waiter n Also sp ally-waiter

marble of real alabaster. 1.411

.

.

Steel allies.

A playing 1896 DN

.

.

.

EE6a, Marbles the big one that's used to knock others out of the ring) 27 Infs chiefly NEast, Allie; DC3, Glass allie; NJ53, Shooting allie. .

PA242, TN20, TX62, Alley dog; (Qu. J2, Joking or uncomplimentary words .for dogs) Infs IL26, MI72, TN52, TX13, Alley dog.

infl

by

dumbwaiter]

term

in marbles, equivalent to

agate-agate.

An

elevator.

1896 DN 1.41 nwMD, Ally waiter: pop. etym for elevator. 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 81.21, Elevator. Alley-waiter. 1

alley(-alley)-over n, exclam Also sp olly-olly-over

Cf illy-ally-

DS EE22, 23a =Antony-over n, exclam. 1950 WELS (Game in which you throw a ball over a low building) over and

alleyway n 1

—

Inf,

ceWI, Olly-olly over Common. Ibid (What do you say or call out when you throw the ball) ceWI, [Same Inf:] Olly-olly over. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. EE22, The game in which they throw a ball over a .

building) Infs

M027. OH40, PA 152, TX1

Alley-alley over; (Qu. ball) Infs

.

NY94,

EE23,

A

.

1, Alley over; IL51, NY94, What do you call out when you throw the

228, Alley-alley over!;

alley apple n [alley n 1

.

1

+ apple]

3

PA 152,

when used

brick, rock or stone, usu

Alley-over!

joe as a missile.

Cf Irish

1 also alley: A long hall or corridor; a narrow passage within a house, building, or train. 1854 Harper's Mag. 9.849/2 GA, I was taken to the Auburn stateI bethought prison. And as I walked along the concealed alley-ways, me of my theft of fruit. 1926 DN 5.385 ME, "Hang your coat in the alley-way." Rare. 1970 Major Afro- Amer. Slang, Alley: corridor in a hospital. 1977 Adams Lang. Railroader 6, Alleyway: A corridor. The narrow passage at the side of staterooms and compartments in sleeping and parlor cars. .

2

confetti

side yard.

1916

1927 AmSp 2.390 ["Argot of the Vagabond"], A rock is an alley-apple. 1934 Sun (Baltimore MD) 7 Dec 28/3 (Hench Coll.), For the next sixty days a brick-tossing seaman can sit in a cell in the City Jail and regret his marksmanship with an "alley apple." 1946 D. Runyon (synd. newsp. col.) 14 Sept (DAS), A fellow's blonde usually stepped in and slugged the other gee with an alley apple or a ground biscuit, meaning a rock done up in a stocking. 1960 Partridge Slang 422, Alley Apple. A stone or brickbat employed in street fighting ([from] 1860). 1970 DARE (Qu. C26) Inf PA239, Alley apple a new slang word for brick. .

A

.

.

.

—

A piece of horse manure. Cf road apple, and DS LI 7. 1960 Wentworth-Flexner Slang. 1967 DARE Tape PA29. 1967 DARE FW Addit sePA, Alley apples horse droppings. Old-fashioned term, used chiefly by males. Also called street apples. [FW note: Amish 2

—

people drive horses in this area.]

A promiscuous,

1

careless or slovenly

common

woman — sometimes

used

as a general term of abuse.

1968-69 DARE (Qu. AA7b, always trying to know more

—

.

.

A woman who is veryfond ofmen and is

ifshe's not respectable about

HH37, An immoral woman) HH36) Inf GA77, Alley-bat. Alley-bat; (Qu.

it)

Inf GA77,

Inf GA19, Alley-bat; (Qu.

promiscuous woman (DAS, bat, alley cat n, eave cat, tomcat v To behave in a sexually promiscuous manner. 1958 Voelker Anatomy of Murder 292 nMI, You mean, Officer, [you

[From OEDS)] Cf alley

alley-cat v

alley

cat

out whether it might not have been her husband who beat her up for staying out alley-catting? 1966 (Qu. Y29b, Or, about a ") Inf WA3, man who doesn't stay home much: "He's always

tried] to find

DARE

Alley-catting.

An

Cf alley-cat v

illegitimate child.

1966 alley

DARE (Qu.

Zl

lb) Inf

SC3, Woods

dog n [By analogy with

the

now

colt, bastard, alley cat.

std alley cat]

A

mongrel dog. 1967-70 DARE (Qu.

all-fire

.

.

New

Orleans LA.

1, 5, 7.

thumbs

n [Back-formation from all-fired adj or adv]

old-fash,

euphem Hellfire.

1899 Edwards Defense 20 GA, Hit did rain GG40) Inf SC58, Mad as all-fire [far].

like all-fire.

1968

DARE

(Qu.

all-fired

ady Also (by assim of

hell-fired]

widespread

final [d]) all-fire

somewhat

[Euphem

for

old-fash

Extremely. 1837 Yale Lit. Mag. 2.149 (DAE), Star's an all-fired good ox. 1854 Stephens High Life in NY .26, My eyes begun to grow allfired bright. 1865 Atlantic Mth. 15.671, I didn't feel so all-fired cold as I hev sometimes. 1905 DN 3.2 CT. Ibid 3.60 eNE. 1907 DN 3.208 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.286 eAL,wGA. 1910 DN 3.436 wNY. 1914 DN 4.68 ME, nNH. 1927 AmSp 3.140 ME coast. 1940 Faulkner Hamlet 44 MS, Looking a right smart less easy in the face and most all-fired watchful. 1950 (1965) Richter Town 30 OH, Where folks were so all-fired clean and white of their sins that a person from another settlement couldn't stand looking at them till he smoked up a piece of glass. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. LL37, "I could have wrung her neck, I was so mad. ") 36 Infs, scattered, All-fired. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 63% were old; of those giving this response, 89% were old.]; Inf FL22, All-fire; (Qu. GG40) Inf WV3, All-fired mad. .

all-fired adj

somewhat

A dog

of mixed breed) Infs IL15, IN69,

.

Also superl

all-firedest

[Euphem

for hell-fired]

old-fash

—

often used as an intensifier or mild oath. 1835 Boston Pearl 28 Nov 8 1 / 1 He made so many stupid mistakes that got out of patience with him, and gin him a most all-fired cut his boss with a horsewhip. 1864 Lowell Fireside Travels 185, This 'ere's the 1898 Westcott allfiredest, powerfullest moon 't ever you did see. Harum 1 82, 1 had the all-firedist lickin' ahead of me 't I'd ever got. 1905 £W3.2cCT. 1907 DN 3.208 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.286 eAL,wGA. 1944 AmSp 19.243. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, He's such an all-fired smart

Extreme, severe

,

alec.

Jl,

1

feet, all fingers See all

.

alley cat n

4.346

1

3 + bat prostitute (DAS); cf the alley cat in similar use (DAS, OEDS)]

alley bat n [alley n

DA

3 See alley n all

.

.

allforche

41

have him

allforche See alforja all

free See

all

get-out n Pronc-sp

In

hollow.' 1824 Irv ing Tales of a Traveller 2.39, Her blood hollow; there was no withstanding a woman with such blood in her veins. 1835 (1955) Crockett Almanacks 8 wTN, I saw she preferred me all holler. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 50 IN, carried

all (in) free

~ git-out

compar phrr following

See also get-out

like, as,

or than: an extreme or high

1884 (1958) Twain Huck. Finn 325, We got to dig in like all git-out. 908 Lincoln Cy H 'hittaker 1 3 MA, Stubborn as all get-out to the end, he was, and willed the place, all he had left, to them Howes folks. 1912 DA' 3.58 wIN, He was working like all get out. 1914 D\ 4.68 ME, nNH, "He hypered like all git aout!" He departed very rapidly. 1914 DNA. 102 KS, As rich (tired, easy, etc.) as all get out. 1916 Wilson Somewhere 197 West, When I got into the parlour she had them on. pleased as all get-out. 1929 AmSp 4.204 Ozarks, Clever an' biddable as all git-out. 1

1

DARE (Qu. HH22b, "He 's meaner than widespread, All get-out. 1966 Barnes- Jensen Diet.

1965-70

He was Jail

as

drunk

as

all

')

.

.

1

13

UT Slang 3,

get out.

get-outdoors n [Blend of all get-out

+ all outdoors

DARE

Fatigued, weak,

somewhat

ill.

WELS

(Feeling lifeless or without energy: today. ") 1 Inf, csWI, All gone. 1967-69

"I certainly feel

DARE (Qu.

BB5,

A

OH

general feeling of discomfort or illness) Infs NJ58, 15, All-gone feeling; (Qu. BB6, A sudden feeling of weakness) Inf NJ39, All-gone feeling.

home

all

.

(free)

by the nose See hair on the nose

hair

all

hands (and

all

hands and the cook (and the whiskey-jacks)

feet) See all

[all

see quot.

.

horns and rattles adj phr [Ref to

all

cattle's

horns and snakes'

West

rattles]

used

—

fit

how adv phr Cf as how what way.

in

1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.514. He told all how he beat that fellow up. 1976 "Warner Beautiful Swimmers 1 38 eShore MD, That's all how we get the big peelers from the middle of May through the second week of June.

all-hunky (dory) See hunky

1824—]

allicomgreenzie n [Scots SND,

children's ring-game similar to drop the handkerchief.

AmSp

31.35

See alley n

MA.

2

free and varr See all-ee all-ee

allie allie (in)

allies

usu used an exclam announcing an emergency requiring everyone's

—

All horns and rattles Said of one of temper. A man in this mood, as one cowboy said, don't say nothin', but it ain't safe to ask questions."

"maybe all

Cf Hannah

Cook All members of a working group without exception

free

game of hide-and-seek: .

allie

hands, orig nautical, here transf]

exclam Var of home

1965-70D.4^£(Qu.EE15. What does the player who is "it" call out 9 to the others ) Infs MI55, OH61, All home free; MAM, All home.

1956

thumbs n, often

1

In the children's

A

all

an exclam

1

How:

all-gone adj Cfallinadj

as

.

displaying a

1970 (Qu. GG40, Words or expressions meaning violently angry) Inf TX86, Mad as all get-outdoors.

as

" said Bud, rubbing his hands on his knees. "Gewhilliky crickets! my time all holler!" 1908 DA' 3.286 eAL, wGA, I beat him all-hollow the last time I played him. 1912 DA' 3.570 wIN. 1977 DARE File cnM A (as of c 9 5), The expression all to hollow is familiar to me as well as all hollow. "The Orange baseball team beat ours all to hollow."

Very angry: see quot. 1944 Adams Western Words,

2]

=all get-out.

1950

all

all

it

"That beats

degree.

Infs,

exclam

[all

(all) in free

+ -ies]

In marbles play: =evers 3.

1963 KY Folkl. Rec. 9.63 neKY, Demand for possession of all marbles : allies: Greenup knocked off square or out ofring when a shot is taken .

help.

ME

.

.

somewhat facetiously called

—

turn out, big trouble coming up. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo 1 Gt Lakes, All Hands and the Cook The call or cry that a log jam had occurred and that every one of the river crew was needed to help break it. Also used in other emergencies when help was needed. 1970 Halpert Coll. wKY, It took all hands and the cook to get the job finished.

—

n Form.

alligator

A

1968

B

of

this

wGA, Don't you worry about me.

I'm all-heeled.

[From the rhyme called out by "it"; all hidwas the name game as played in Elizabethan England (OED 1608)]

among Black

speakers

children's game of hide-and-seek. 1959 Lomax Rainbow Sign 39 AL [Black], We was playing All Hid at our house // was singin ... All hid Everybody hollered: No, no!/ Is it all hid?/ No, no./ Corn bread rough and Corn bread tough./ Niggers down yonder don't never get enough This / All hid? time, we all said, "Yes." So it start out from the base, not far, though, because all us watchin him to see if we could beat him back to the base to get our hundreds. 1964 Lomax Penguin Amer. Folk Songs 98 Sth [Black], When the rhymes and games of American children are put together in one book, the most original chapter will be that of Negro children of the deep South. 'All Hid' is a hide-and-go-seek rhyme known in Mississippi and Alabama, recorded by us in numerous versions for the .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Library of Congress.

GA35,

['Dligeit;*].

[From a resemblance

to the reptile]

Any of three usu large salamanders: the hellbender, the siren 1

1

(here: Siren lacertina), or the tiger

1859 (1968)

Bartlett

name

is

salamander.

Americanisms, Alligator ... In the Western

applied

.

.

to the

Menopoma

allegheniensis, a sala-

1892 IN Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Report for 1891 417, Where it abounds [Siren lacertina] it is, according to Barton, called "Alligator" and "Water-lizard." 1926 TX Folkl. Soc. Pub. 5.63, In the plains region of Western Texas the large tiger salamander is a common animal Large ones are called "alligators." Ibid 5.72. The .

—

—

Completely, thoroughly now usu in phr beat (one) ~. 1815 in 1856 Adams Works 10.125, Burr had a copy of this list brought to him immediately. He read it over, with great gravity folded it up, put it in his pocket, and, without uttering another word said, 'Now I .

.

.

.

name alligator,

a corruption of the Spanish lagarto (lizard) Texas to indicate the large tiger salamander.

—

is

frequently

1930 Shoe-

maker 1300 Words 2 cPA Mts (as of c 1900), Alligator A large salamander formerly numerous in West Branch of Susquehanna: destroyed by

industrial pollution.

Cf alligator

2 =fence lizard.

lizard

1911 Century Diet., Alligator A local name of the little brown fence-lizard, Sceloporus undulatus, common in many parts of the United States. .

.

.

3 The larva of the dobsonfh. 1894 DA 1.339 wCT, Alligator: larva of the hellgramite [corydalus cornutus], an aquatic insect used as bait for bass. 1901 Howard Insect Book 212, In 1889 the names in use in Rhode Island alone for the insect are: Dobsons, crawlers, alligators, Ho Jack [etc.]. r

.

.

hollow adv phr Also all to hollow, pronc-sp ^holler [OED hollow adv B2, 1 762 ; sugg emptiness, what was inside having been beaten out]

all

raeligeitaH

DARE Tape

used in West

The

.

Usu

mandroid animal.

=well-heeled. 1908 DN 3.286 eAL, hid n

1

Senses.

States, the

all-heeled adj

all

.

(County).

Univ. Studies 56.11, The whole ship's company was all hands and the cook. 1942 AmSp 1 7. 1 30 IN. 1944 Adams Western Words. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, All hands and the cook and the whiskey-jacks Everybody

1942

alligator

/

.

.

.

4 In mining: see quot 1881. 1881

Raymond Gloss. Mining, 1968 Adams Western

by jaws.

.

.

obs Alligator ...

A rock-breaker operating

Words.

5 A person, usu non-Black, who listens to rather than plays jazz music. (Note: this is the probable source for the non-regional catch-phrase see you later, alligator.) orig among Black speakers and derog, though not always recognized as such

A alligator

/

alligator effect

42

1937 Etude 55.835 NYC, Alligator: A non-playing swing devotee, a 1938 New Yorker 8 Jan 34 (Hench Coll.), In the jargon of swingmen, these appreciative listeners are termed "alligators." 1955 Shapiro Hear Me Talkin '97 Chicago IL [Black], Some guys would come in to sit in with you and learn what you were doing. We'd call them alligators. That was our tip-off word, because they were guys who came up to swallow everything we had to learn. 1958 AmSp 33.223. 1958 Hughes -Bontemps Negro Folkl. 481 NYC [Black], Alligator: A jitterbug. 1970 Major Afro- Amer. SlanglQ, Alligator: ( 1 930's) term used by black jazzmen, particularly in New Orleans, referring to white jazz listener.

—

used as a humorous nickname.

See

1937 Shankle Nicknames 188, Floridians ... are nicknamed AlligaCrackers, and Fly-up-the Creeks. 1949 AmSp 24.29.

8 In logging: a boat or sled used for transporting logs: see quots. 1942 Berrey - Van den Bark A mer. Slang 512.9 [In logging], Alligator, a boat provided with windlass and cable for hauling logs, also a sled, often skidding logs. 1956 Sorden-Ebert Logger's Words Gt Lakes, Alligator, 1. A boat used in handling floating logs. It can be moved overland from one body of water to another by its own power ... 2. A device, often made from the fork of a tree, on which the front end of a log is placed to facilitate skidding on swampy ground. 1968 Adams Western Words. 1975 Gould Lingo 34, Alligator flat-bottomed scow or raft used on inland lakes for moving boomed logs. (Tow boats came later.) The alligator would be rowed out ahead of the boom of logs and anchored. A capstan or wench then pulled the boom up to the alligator by a cable. The alligator would be advanced to a new position and the process repeated until the boom had been brought to its

used

liver.

bait

in

—

ME

A

device used in shoeing a horse: see quot. Adams Old-Time Cowhand 243, With the clinchin' block, or "alligator," held on the outside wall [of the hoof] underneath the nail, the head of the nail should be hammered down into the crease of the shoe. 1961

10 A tag 1967-68

game played

in the water. Sth Also called gator EE28)InfG A58, Alligator— a type of tag; SC44.

£>/!/?£ (Qu.

— a tag game. tagged; TX32, Alligator — one

out of the water you can't be tries to catch the others, and each one he catches helps him catch the rest; LA34, Alligator one pretends to be an alligator, the other to be Tarzan. 1981 DARE File cnOK (as of c 960), A swimming game, like tag, played in Choctaw County. Alligator (or gator)

If you're

—

1

11 also alligator walk:

A

dance step popular among young

adults in the late 1960s: see quot 1980.

—

unpalatable, indigestible character as served in construction camps and cheap lunch rooms. The term is often applied to any poor food or meal.

.

(as

of 969), 1

Our

.

fraternity used to hire a Black singer to play for a

weekend of partying once a year. One of the more grotesque dances he introduced us to was called the "alligator." The dancers would wiggle and writhe on their bellies on the floor. full

12 A type of pastry: see quot. 1968 DARE FW Addit Madison WI [Heard in a type of sweet roll which is long and narrow.

restaurant], Alligator

—

alligator n 2 [By error for delegate: see quot]

A member of the

Virginia House of Delegates. al883 (1911) Bagby VA Gentleman 290, In peace times this bell struck the hours of the day and night and called the truant "Alligators" from their haunts in the barrooms and faro-banks when there was a close vote in the General Assembly. [Footnote: Explanation that "alligator" was a Dutchman's blunder for "delegate" in the Virginia House of Delegates, and became a well-known nickname. "Ever since the term "Alligator" has been a household word in Virginia."] .

.

n 3 [Perh folk etym from man's low, rough work shoe.

^alligator

A

DARE (Qu. Wl 1)

1968

alligator

Inf

gaiter]

MO 17, Alligators.

apple n [From the habitat and applelike shape;

1933 Small Manual .

.

.

SE

Flora 532,

Annona glabra

Little Checklist U.S. Trees 54,

mon name — alligator-apple.

Sth

chiefly

derog

75, Pickaninnies, or as they are

It

"alligator bait,"

swam around

the boat.

most com1930 Irwin

A generic term

Amer. Tramp, Alligator Bait

...

largely through the South,

where

for negro children, this considered humorous in the extreme to frighten the pickaninnies by threatening to throw them to the " 'gators" which they fear. 1960 Wentworth-Flexner Slang, Alligatorbait ... A Negro, esp. one from Florida or Louisiana. Dial. 1968 DARE (Qu. HH28) Infs NY76, LA23, Alligator-bait. 1970 Major it

is

Afro- Amer. Slang 20, Alligator-bait: ( 1940's) a Negro in or from Florida. 1 970 Tarpley Blinky 265 neTX, Teasing and derogatory names for Negroes 'gator bait. .

.

.

alligator bark n

Cf alligator juniper

1961 Douglas My Wilderness 187 MD, The bark of the persimmon deeply divided into so many square plates that local people call

DJE

S.

.

.

.

Alligator-

pen. Fla. and the

Pond-apple

.

.

.

Other com-

is it

alligator bark.

alligator

bark juniper See alligator juniper

alligator blankets n

Cf alligator

bonnet(s), alligator buttons

A

water lily 1 of the genus Nymphaea. 1913 Torreya 13.230, Alligator blankets, Santee Club,

alligator bonnet(s) n Also gator bonnet

shaped

S.C.

[From the bonnet-

Sth =white water lily leaf]

(here: Nymphaea odorata). 1920 Torreya 20.21, Alligator bonnet, Cameron Parish, La. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 543, Nymphaea odorata Alligator-bonnet. Star-lotus Ponds, lakes, slow streams, and ditches, Fla. to La., Man., and N.S. 1953 Greene -Blomquist Flowers South 38, WaterLilies One of the most widely distributed of these is the white to pinkish "alligator-bonnet" (N. odorata). 1970 Correll Plants TX 632, White Water-lily, Alligator-bonnet, Ninfa acuatica flowers very 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

fragrant.

A spatterdock. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 262, N[ymphaea] sagittxfolia southeastern U.S. is called also Alligator-bonnets. 1968 DARE (Qq. S26a,b) Inf GA28, Gator bonnet (also called waterlily). 2

.

alligator

.

.

bread n

1968 DARE (Qu. H 8, Special kinds of bread made now or in past years around here) Inf IL27, Alligator bread A big round loaf [with a] rough surface on top. 1

.

.

—

alligator buttons n sg or pi

SE

=water chinquapin. 1920 Torreya 20.21, Nelumbo lutea ... Alligator buttons, Goose 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 540, Alligator-butS.C. The fruits were used as food by the aborigines. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 2. Creek, tons .

.

.

alligator cooter n chiefly

S

Atl

Cf cooter n

=alligator turtle.

1842 DeKay Zool. NY 3.9, The Snapping Turtle. Chelonura serpenis known under the names of Loggerhead, Alligator Turtle and Couta. 1942 Rawlings Cross Creek 227 FL, The alligator cooter is the most highly prized of all inland turtle meats. He is very dangerous, a virulent fighter encased in a ridged, scaly shell from which he takes his name, with a fierce hooked beak at the end of his head and long neck that can make mincemeat of an enemy. 1966 DARE (Qu. P24, Kinds of turtles) Infs SC7, 9, 26, 43, Alligator cooter. cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural GA, 2 Infs, seGA, Alligator cooter. [Both Infs Black] tina

.

.

alligator corn

Swamps, ponds, and low hammocks,

1979

Black person, esp a Black child,

.

1756^] =pond apple. apple Keys.

A

.

1967-69 DARE (Qu.FF5b, Recent dance steps)\nfSC65, Alligator walk;NY2l IB, Alligator. [Both Infs are young. Black] 1980 DARE File

cPA

1927 DN 5.437 [Among construction workers], Alligator Stewed or fried liver. This is a staple article of food at construction

camps. Bull's liver is kept until rotten in order to make it tender. 1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Alligator Bait. Fried liver, so called from its

destination.

9

.

.

monly known,

tors,

tree,

n

Unpalatable food, esp liver. 1926 AmSp 1.650 ["Hobo Lingo"], Alligator-bait— fried or stewed

1901 Oliver Roughing

also gator

the fork of a

1

2

musicians, jive people or jitterbugs.

6 See alligator horse. 7 A resident of Florida

alligator bait

The

.

n Also ~ pea

edible seed of water chinquapin.

Oakley, S.C. 1941 Torreya 41.47, Nelumbo lutea Alligator peas 1950 PADS 1 4. 1 1 SC, Alligator corn ... The seed pods of the water lily. .

alligator effect See alligatoring

.

.

.

.

43

alligator

A

gar n [From

and general

its size

alligator gar

aspect]

large freshwater gar (Lepisosteus spatula) of the central

southern US. 1820 Rafinesque Ohio R. Fishes

and

73, This fish [Lepisosteus spatulaj

the names of Alligator Gar, Alligator fish, Jack or Gar Pike, bears is armed with &c. 1841 Kennedy Texas 1.132, The alligator gar almost impenetrable scales, and, from its strength and voracity, may be termed the river-shark. 1851 (1969) Burke Polly Peablossom 129 cwMS, I was nearly thrown into the lake by the piunge of a monster 1920 Forbes -Richardson Fishes of IL 35, Alligatoralligator gar. Formerly made into oil, by the people of Arkansas, for use as a gar. lotion to prevent attack by the buffalo-gnat. 1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. This formidable fresh Fishes 402, The Mississippi Alligator Gar water fish, attaining a length of as much as twenty feet, ranges from completely salt to completely fresh water. 1955 Carr-Goin Guide Mouth extended into a bill-like structure, Reptiles 39, Alligator Gar with two rows of large teeth on each side in the upper jaw. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. P3) Infs GA84, IL4 1 OK42, 52, TX27, 78, 96, Alligator gar. (Qu. P4) Inf TX14, Alligator gar. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

alligator

grass n Also

alligator

chiefly

alligator habitats]

weed

[Perh because often in

SE

A

usu aquatic perennial plant (Alternanthera philoxeroides) of the southeastern US and CA which has opposite grasslike leaves and a spike of white flowers and which clogs waterways with its dense masses. .

TX

any evidence of cracking, checking, or alligatoring. 1936 The Pathfinder 14 Mar 1 8 (Hench Coll.) DC, Painters use the term alligatoring to describe paint which has cracked into large segments because of its resemblance to an alligator's skin. 1969 AmSp 44.9 Pacific NW, (The unfortunate result of) painting a dark paint over a light color. The dark paint holds (attracts) heat, which causes it to crack in an "alligator" effect.

Alligator

.

.

.

n Also alligator bark juniper

alligator juniper

An

evergreen tree (Juniperus deppeana), native to Texas, AriNew Mexico, which has gray bark divided into conspicuous squarish plates. Also called checkered-bark juniper, oak-barked cedar, oak-barked juniper 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 98, Juniperus pachyphloea Alligator Juniper (Ariz.). 1909 AZ Ag. Exp. Sta. Timely Hints 79.6, The one-seeded juniper (Juniperus monosperma) grows at altitude somewhat lower than the alligator-bark juniper (Juniperus pachyphlaea) 1925 Bryan Papago Country 45, With these oaks are associated the Mexiand the alligator juniper. 1947 Primitive Man Jan -Apr 9 can pinon AZ, "What kind of juniper?" he asked, "Alligator bark juniper?" 1960 Vines Trees SW3 1, The thick, square-plated bark has been compared to the rough plates on an alligator's back and the vernacular name. Alligator Juniper, has been given the tree. 1970 Correll Plants TX 78, Alligator juniper from w. Tex., w. to cen. Ariz, and s. to cen. Mex. The wood of this species is used for fence posts and fuel.

zona and

.

.

.

568, Alligator-weed ...

is

ponds and other such places

rapidly clogging the streams, canals,

in coastal Texas.

was lately formed by an extraordinary eruption or jet of water; it is one of those vast circular sinks about sixty yards over, and the surface of the water [is] six or seven feet below the rim of the funnel or bason: the water is transparent, cool, and pleasant to drink, and well stored with fish; a very large alligator at present is lord or chief. 1842 Buckingham Slave .

.

brood as a hundred are seen savannas.

63,

The

1873

at a time.

alligator

makes

in 1953

McMullen Topog. swamps and

large holes in these

He covers the holes with dried cane, grass and whatever he can

find of a similar nature. This covering

three feet in height. There

which the

is

'gator crawls out

raised like a cone,

is

and

is

two or

a hole in one side of the covering, through

and

in

.

.

.

The

greatest alligator hole in

on the ocean

side of the Indian River. 1922 Gonzales Black coasts [Gullah], The yawning mouth of the big 'gator hole, ordinarily covered with water, now disclosed a parched

Florida

is

Border 120 sSC, throat wide

GA

enough

have taken in a [rifle] barrel. 1934 Natl. Geog. Mag. 65.598/1 GA, In these morasses are many areas of open water, varying from lakes a quarter of a mile in diameter to "alligator holes" a rod in width. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 70 nFL, sGA, A miner's lamp made a flood of light to pierce the dark waters of the run and the near-by gator holes, but their owners were not at home. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

lily n [Prob reference to its prevalence in alligator habibut possibly referring to the black, somewhat alligatorlike scales covering the bulb] SE, esp FL

tat

A

spider lily, here Hymenocallis spp esp H. palmeri. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 324, H. Palmeri Alligator-lily Prairies and Everglades, pen. Fla. Spr[ing]. 1934 Torreya 34. 1 36, In the more prairie-like parts of the Everglades perhaps the most striking of all is the Alligator Lily, Hymenocallis. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 42 1 nFL, The first rays of the sun lay on the river. Alligator lilies on the far bank caught them like white cups. 1970 DARE (Qu. S26b, What other wild/lowers do you have around here that grow in wet places?) Inf .

—

.

VA52,

Alligator

alligator lizard

=fence

1

lily

— a water

to

horse n Also alligator obs =half horse, half alligator. 1826 in 1861 Woodworth Poet. Wks. 2.8 KY,

lizard.

.

.

.

& Nat. Resources Report for 1891 540, Sceloporus

Alligator Lizard; Pine Tree Lizard.

2

Any

of several long-tailed, slow-moving, chiefly terrestrial

We'll

—

show him

.

alligatoring vbl n Also n alligator effect

that

.

.

[See quot 1936]

into patches as a result 121 (DA)

US.

was 1931 Copeia 14 CA, For several days a silvery footless lizard kept in the cage with the alligator lizard, but was not eaten. 1935 in 1946 Smith Lizards 438, Recorded methods of self-protection used by alligator lizards include hiding in holes or among dry leaves. 1958 Conant Reptiles & Amphibians 107, Texas Alligator Lizard Scales large and platelike (suggesting the Alligator). 1964 Lowe Vertebrates 166, Arizona Alligator Lizard Occasionally in wood rat nests and rodent burrows. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

nephew n

^alligator

Prob =alligator

turtle 1.

cl970 Pederson Dial Survey Rural GA (A creature with a very hardshell that lives in water. It can draw its four legs and head and tail completely inside its shell.) 1 Inf, seGA, Cooter, soft shell turtle, alligator nephew. alligator

pea See

alligator corn

pear n [DJE 1 696 avocado (Persea spp).

alligator

— »]

1766 Stork E. Florida 6 1 (DAE), The plantane-tree and allegator pear,

1850 Quincy Whig(Q\x\ncy IL) 9 Apr 4/1 (DA), 'Eh! hem, a horse, eh!' said the Judge. 'Yes, sir, an alligator horse.' 1945 Le Sueur North Star Country 248 MN, WI [Among lumberjacks, as of 1860s], His crew were often tough I'm the men "alligator horses" of short lives and violent ends toughest goldarned alligator in the North Woods.

uneven drying. 1911 Engin. News 27 July

.

lily.

the tenderest of the tropical plants, are in full perfection at Augustine.

"alligator horses."

The cracking of paint

.

.

lizards {Gerrhonotus spp) native to the western

An

alligator

—

.

1

.

Kentucky boys/ Are

.

.

n Cf alligator n B2

1892 IN Dept. Geol. undulatus

.

.

.

States 1.155, In their retreats, or nests, called alligator-holes, as large a

FL

.

.

.

.

n Also gator hole S Atl A retreat or "nest" made by alligators in swampy land. 1791 (1958) Bartram Travels 150 FL, Our chief conducted me another way to shew me a very curious place, called the Alligator-Hole, which

alligator hole

Terms

.

.

alligator

1933 Torreya 33.83, Alligator grass, Mississippi Delta, La Alligator grass as at present recorded is an introduced species that has shown considerable tendencies toward "taking the place" much in the manner of water hyacinth. 1944 AL Geol. Surv. Bulletin 53.98, A. philoxeroides is called "alligator weed" in southern Louisiana, where it is a pest in bayous. 1958 Grau Hard Blue Sky 1 7 LA, The edges of this side of the island were marshy: he could see the alligator grass and the cattails and the saw grass. 1959 Munz-Keck C4 F/ora 388. 1970 Corrett Plants .

alligator root

/

of contraction or

NY, Many of the paints which lack

Bartlett Americanisms, Alligator Pear ... A West Indian resembling a pear in shape. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 282, Avocado Alligator Pear, Holy-ghost Pear. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 92 1 Avocado. Alligator-pear Hammocks and pinelands, S Fruits that grow pen. Fla. and the Keys. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. 146, wild) Infs FL15, IL17, Alligator pear(s); (Qu. 153) Inf HI 1, "Alligator pear" was my regular term; "avocado" has now largely displaced it. 1969 DARE Addit Honolulu HI.

1859 (1968)

fruit,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

FW

alligator root

n Cf alligator

See quot. 1970 Hyatt Hoodoo

tree

AM NC [Black], They tell me that chew can wear

snapper

alligator

roots

put a

little salt

it

.

.

44

— High John the Conker, alligator

some

and

all in

/

and wear

and

root,

'coon root,

and

cayenne pepper, and make a sack out of round your neck with a little bluestone and alum in it,

in that, a it

little

that the individual can't hurt yah. [Hyatt's note: Alligator root

either shaped like

an

from the sweet

alligator or root

gum

snapper n Also ^snapping

tree, often

Gator.

gator snapper Gulf

have myself seen an 'Alligator 1884 Goode Snapper,' of perhaps forty pounds weight, bite the handle of a broom in two when enraged. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 24 sGA, Swamp folk are as much afraid of the ferocious alligator snappers as they are of the Many an unsuspecting waterfowl is caught and real alligators dragged down to furnish a meal for the gator snapper. 1946 Outdoor Life Oct 124/3, I nominate the alligator snapping turtle, vicious, hardshelled, reptilian devil of the southern rivers. 1958 Conant Reptiles & Amphibians 35, Alligator Snapper often lies at bottom of lake or river with mouth wide open. A curious pink process on floor of mouth .

I

.

.

.

deep water of rivers, canals,

soap n Soap made from

lakes,

and oxbows.

alligator

1943 Pratt Barefoot Mailman 52 seFL, Linda worked Steven hard at alligator soap [After the lye was] placed in a kettle under which another fire was built, Linda then threw in the clear white fat of an alligator Jesse had killed. This finally set into a hard coarse soap. 1

.

alligator terrapin n

.

1

,

—

turtle brown, good to eat; SC66, Alligator turtle; FL32, Alligator turtle or terrapin; FL4,

voracious freshwater snapping turtle, Macroclemys tem2 minkii, found in the Gulf States and Missip River Valley which may grow to a size of more than 200 lb. Also called alligator snapper, ~terrapin, loggerhead 1934 W2, Alligator snapper or turtle .

GA25,

.

1966-70

(Macrochelys temminckii).

.

.

A voracious snapping turtle

.

DARE

(Qu. P24) Infs FL48,

may have

41, Alligator turtle. [Note: These Infs

referred instead

above, as the ranges of the two turtles overlap in this area.] cl970 Pederson Dial. Sun'ey Rural GA, (A creature with a very hard shell that

to

1

lives in water)

1

Inf,

seGA,

Alligator turtle;

alligator

walk See

alligator n

alligator

wampee

n [alligator

1

Inf,

1

seGA, Gator

turtle.

Bll

+

S

wampee]

Atl

=pickerelweed. 1916 Torreya 16.237, Alligator wampee Santee Club, S.C.,; wild Id., S.C. 1952 Taylor Plants Colonial Days 66 VA, An aquatic plant native to eastern North America, pickerel-weed grows in shallow water at the margins of lakes that may or may not contain pickerel! Alligator wampee is another common name sometimes used. .

.

gentian, Cat.

alligator

alligator fat.

making

5

.

resembles a worm, wriggles like one, and serves as a lure for fishes. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. P24) Infs IL1 19, LA34, Alligator snapper. 1972 Ernst - Barbour Turtles 30, The alligator snapper occurs most frequently in the

said to receive the name Inf FL27, Alligator turtle-

it is

A

turtle,

States and Missip Valley

.

where

1966-70 DARE (Qu. P24) mean, have a long tail; SC40, Alligator

FL35,

=alligator turtle esp 2. Fisheries U.S. 1.153,

also occurs in Missouri,

It

'Caouane.'

is

called alligator tree in Southern U.S.A.]

alligator

Texas.

alligator

weed wood

See alligator grass See alligator tree

.

S

Atl

=alligator turtle.

1835 Simms Partisan 317 SC, Three enormous terrapins of that doubtful brood which the vulgar in the southern country describe as the alligator terrapin. 1855 Simms Forayers 545 SC, What we call the alligator terrapin is the best of the tribe the fattest, richest, best with flavored. 1934 Natl. Geog. Mag. 65.610 sGA, The turtle fauna aquatic preferences range in size from the musk turtle, with a carapace

—

.

.

adj See also all-gone, all out

all in

used predicatively: Exhausted, chiefly Nth, Midi somewhat old-fash See Map (Addit map in 1941 LANE 2.482.) 1902 McFaul Ike Glidden 201 (DA) ME, The horse was holding steady up to his clip, but it could be easily seen that he was 'all in.' 1927 AmSp 2.347 cwWV, The men were all in when the fire was under control. 1928 Ruppenthal Coll. KS, After struggling against the wind for a mile she was all in. 1950 WELS (Very tired) 27 Infs, WI, All in; (Feeling lifeless or without energy: "I certainly feel today. ") 6 Infs, WI, All in. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, I'm all in after working at the mill. 1965-70D/t/?£'(Qu. X47, Otherways of saying "I'm very tired, at the end of my strength. ") 162 Infs, scattered, but esp Nth, Midi, All in; 1

.

between three and four inches in length, to the mighty 75-pound alligator terrapin, with a head practically as large as a man's. 1966 DARE (Qu. P24, What kinds of turtles are found around here?) Inf FL32, Alligator turtle or terrapin. 1969 DARE Tape GA51, Alligator terrapins ['sehgetdr- 'taerapmz] [we] call 'em. They have a tail about that long an' it

.

.

.

(Qu. KK30, Feeling slowed up or without energy) 43 Infs, chiefly Inland Nth, All in. [Of all Infs responding to Qq. X47 and KK30, 64% and 63% respectivelv were old; of those giving this response, 82% and 93% were old.] 1973 Allen 1.361, All in is used by one-half of all infs.

LAUM

looks just like a alligator's.

alligator tree n Also alligator

which resemble those of an

wood [From the ridges of the bark alligator's hide]

chiefly

Sth

See

also alligator root

=sweet gum. 1889 Century Diet., Alligator-tree. 1893 Bot. Gaz. 18.427 WV, Alligai897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 205 NJ, Sweet Gum Alligator Wood. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 230, Sweet Gum. Star-Leaved Gum. Bilsted. Alligator Tree. Through the tor-wood. .

.

.

Alleghany ridges

it is

not so frequently seen as in the Mississippi basin,

where it attains to a great size. 1916 Seton Woodcraft Manual Girls 288, Alligator Tree, or Liquidambar ... A tall tree remarkable for the corky ridges on its bark. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 601, Sweetgum Alligator-tree Coastal Plain and adj. provinces, C. Fla. to Tex., Mo., and Conn The wood is used for cabinet work. 1960 Vines Trees Bark. Very rough, 325, Liquidambar styraciflua .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

SW

.

deeply furrowed, ridges rounded, brown to gray

alligator turtle n Also gator

.

.

.

.

.

Alligator-tree.

~ [From some resemblance to

the

head and long tail] 1 A freshwater snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina, common throughout the U.S. east of the Rockies. Also called alligator cooter, ~nephew, ~snapper, ~terrapin, caouane, loggerhead 1 798 in 930 Dunbar Life 92 Sth, Missip Valley, One of them is called the Alligator Turtle on account of his overgrown head and tail being covered with a species of scales resembling those which form the armour of the Crocodile. 1842 DeKay Zool. NY 3.8, The Snapping Turtle .. is one of our largest turtles ... In other sections, it is known under the names of Loggerhead, Alligator Turtle and Couta. 1884 Goode Fisheries U.S. 1.153, The southern species, Macrochelys lacertina, known as the 'Alligator Turtle,' or 'Loggerhead,' is found in western alligator's scaly

1

.

Georgia, and in

all

the states bordering

on the Gulf, from Florida to

2 Characterized by a general feeling of discomfort.

Cf all-ins,

the

1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB39, On a day when you don "I'll

be

all right

tomorrow

— I'm just feeling

scattered, All in; Inf DE2, All in

't

feel just right

today.

.

.

,

14 Infs,

")

and pooped 2 of 5 Infs are old]; (Qu. NY57, 105, OH29, PA234, All in; (Qu. GG26, A feeling of weakness from fear) Inf MI78, All-in feeling. 3 Very sick; drunk. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. BB42, If a person is very sick you say he's .A person. who had ) Infs CA 113, IL143, Allin;(Qu. X52, Thorbeen sick was looking ) Inf CA1 13, All in; (Qu. DD5,

BB5)

Infs

CA148, MI68,

1

1

[ 1

15,

.

.

.

oughly drunk) Inf

OH

1

1,

All in.

.

]

45

all in

4 Transf, of machinery: run-down, dilapidated. 1967 DARE (Qu. KK20b, Something that looks as if it might collapse ") Inf OR1, All in. any minute: "Our washing machine is

all

1

See

1

1968 DARE (Qu. EE17 Jn a game of tag, ifa player wants does he call out so that he can't be tagged?) Inf MN16, All

to rest,

what

in.

but one's shoestrings adj phr Also ^shoelaces, ^boot-

Nth Cf all

straps

1

KK30)

Inf

NY 109,

All in but

my

shoelaces.

2 Characterized by a general feeling of discomfort. 1968 DARE (Qu. BB5) Inf VVI24, All in but the shoestrings.

free exclam Also all come in (free), all come in homefree all who are out may come in free] throughout US in this and numerous other forms: see DS EE15 and separate

all (in)

[Abbr for

entries.

In the children's game of hide and seek: the phrase called out by the seeker ("it") after he has caught the first of the hiders (who

succeed him as "it"). 1956 [see Ole Ole Olson all in free]. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE15) 61 Infs, throughout US, All free: 29 Infs, chiefly east of Missip R, All in free; AL26, DC8, FL10. MD46, PA49, TX101, VA93, All come in free;

will

CT23,MA57,NJ57,OK52,PA36, All in;M015, All come free; NM12, All come in; IN81, All come in home free; PA 152, All all in free. the n pi

[all-in adj 2]

=all-overs n 2.

1967 is

all

DARE (Qu.

BB5) Inf PA36, The

adv phr Similarly

was

all

chiefly

.

all-jaw n

An animal which prowls throughout the night. 1895 Outing 26.436/2 Sth, Most of his [=the American racoon's] habits are bad. He is an "all-nighter" and a "rounder." a robber of hen-roosts and nests, and a destroyer of game birds and their eggs. 1

2 usu in phr pull an ~: An activity which lasts all night; spec, studying all night for an examination, among young speakers 1966 Current Slang 1.1.1 SD, All-nighter. A long, tedious job, esp. studying for a test. College students, upper classes and graduate. Midwest. This paper is going to be an all-nighter. 1967 Melody Maker 28 Jan 1 1 (OEDS), 'It's an all-nighter,' he revealed. 'And I want you to play three 45 minute spots.' 1968 DARE (Qu. JJ8. To study veryhard the last minute before an exam) Inf NY81, Pull an all-nighter. 1969 Current Slang 3.4.3 KY. 1980 NYTMag. 8 PA, Staying awake the whole night through to 'cram' is called 'pulling an all-nighter.' An

1

,

—

kinds of a time n Also ^of times

old-fash

A

very good time. 1905 DN 3.68 nwAR, Did you enjoy yourself? Why, I had all kinds of times. 1908 DN 3.286 eAL, wGA, All kinds of times ... A good time. Also all kinds of a time.

knees and elbows See leather adj phr

all

.

'all-nighter' is

all-night singing See all-day singing all

not hid can't hide over exclam [From a longer rhyme with see quot 1952 and bushel of wheat, bushel of

numerous varr: rye] Cf all (in)

all

Cf all wool and a yard wide Diet.),

thumbs

all

[and]

.

oak and 1969

They're all mine! a children's expression used to lay entire claim to something found or won. 1956 AmSp 3 .36, Fin dibs means 'No divisions on what is mine!' or, as Chuck Albert, from Providence, Rhode Island, says, "All mines, fellas, all

mines!'

if

there

iron

.

.

.

When

1.38,

he [='if] has finished count-

")

feeling

is

bound

DARE (Qu.

adj phr Var of all wool and a yard wide BB47, Feeling in the best of health and spirits: "I'm Inf TX65, All oak and iron bound.

of a phr chiefly Nth, esp

NEng Cf a

prep 4 Usu foil by a noun to form a predicate adj or adv phr, as all of a shiver "shivering," all of a rush "suddenly": see quots. 1875 ( 886) Woolson Castle Nowhere 16 Mackinac Is MI, You're all of a tremble. I would n't stray so far from home if I was you, child. 1895 Brown Meadow-Grass 9 NH, I was all of a shiver. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 464, All of a twitter. 1914 ZW4.68 ME, nNH, All of a biver Excited. All of a high Very anxious All of a scat-

all

1

1

1

1 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

or scatteration Broadcast: widely scattered. 1929 AmSp 5. 126 ME, A person might be "all of a washing sweat." "wet as sop." "all of a lather." 1938 Sun (Baltimore MD) 8 June 8/8 (Hench Coll.), Later in the season they [=crabs] drop off almost altogether until late July or in August, when they seem to come back all of a rush. ter

.

.

.

.

.

.

all (of)

1894,

By

.

one's lone adj phr Also ~by one's lone(some) 1899

—

OEDS

[EDD

oneself, alone.

all

my

.

.

—

lone.

one's born days See born days

Usu with

NEng

now usu aphet: see lot v count upon, expect; to determine or do something); to be of the opinion.

allot v chiefly

—

Folkl.

no response, he calls: "Bushel of wheat, bushel of clover,/ All not hid can't hide over ..." 1967-68 DARE (Qu. EE15) Infs IN32, TX37, All ain't hid can't hide over. .

.

mines exclam Cf dibs, hosey

1

NC

1952 Brown

all

tall

free

'

reliable.

feet See

.

never 'spent,' never 'had,' but only 'pulled.'

1890 Farmer - Henley Slang, All ofmy lone (American). A negro vulgarism for 'alone. 1905 DN 3.60 NE, I was all by my lonesome. 1910 Raine Bucky O'Connor 2 1 (OEDS). But why for do they let a sick man like you travel all by his lone? 1917 in 1944 ADD sWV, I was here

thumbs

1922 Knibbs Saddle Songs 40 (in 1939 Carlisle Southwestern But he's all leather, sure enough. all left

—

—

.

midge of the family Ceratopogonidae. 1967 DARE (Qu. Rl A very tiny fly that you can hardly see, but that stings) Inf NY1, All-jaws small stinging flies, bigger than no-see-ums. biting

Genuine,

— wild snapdragon.

Cf all-day(er)

all-nighter n

NEng, Appalachians

WV

tall

—

—

2 =butter-and-eggs. 1968 DARE (Qu. SI 1) Inf NJ31, Allmouth

ing

.

all

The first impression one gets of it [the angler, Lophius piscatorius] is that it is all mouth. References to its lack of beauty are expressed in such popular names for it as Bellowsfish and Allmouth. 1960 Amer. Fisheries Soc. List Fishes 51, Allmouth see goosefish. Ibid 49, Goosefish Lophius americanus. 1969 DARE FW Addit eNC, Allmouth a pretty big fish, but almost all of it is mouth.

and seek: a phrase called out by the seeker ("it") before or after he has caught the first hider.

all-ins.

Everything considered; in any case. 1869 Stowe Oldtown Folks 239 NEng, All is, when I begin a thing I like to go through with it. 1871 (1882) Stowe Fireside Stories 36 NEng, Nobody rightly knew where he hed ben or where he hadn't: all was, he turned up at last all alive, and chipper as a skunk blackbird. Ibid 87, She kep' her veil down so we couldn't get sight o' her face. All was, she must see Cap'n Tucker alone right away. 1891 (1967) Freeman New Engl. Nun 199, All is, I don't feel much like it, you know. 1914 D.V4.68 ME, nNH, All is, she's plumb wuthless. 1928 Chapman Happy Mt. 222 seTN, All is, I aim to go where is good pasturings. 1931 Hannum Thursday April 108 Mts, "All is, hit'll be a heap sight better' n havin' him make cheer bottoms the rest of his days."

all

.

In the children's game of hide

old-fash

A

.

1

1

all-ins,

—

Museum Bulletin 16.844, L[ophius] piscatorius. Angler. Goose-fish; All-mouth; 1933 LA Dept. of

—

in adj

Exhausted. 1940-41 Cassidy WI Atlas ceVVI, All in but my shoestrings. 1941 LANE Map 482 cnVT, 1 Inf, I'm all in but my shoestrings. 1950 WELS (Very tired) Inf, seWI, All in but my shoe strings; Inf, cWI, All in but my boot straps. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. X47) Infs IL5, NY2 9, All in but my shoestrings; W'Al, All in but my shoestrings, and they're hanging 1

out; (Qu.

.

.

Conserv. Fishes 294,

%2 Time out!

all in

=goosefish. 1882 U.S. Natl.

Fishing-frog;

all (in) free.

more

all (the)

allmouth n

exclam

all in

more See

allot

/

old-fash

on, upon: to

intend (to 1816 Pickering Vocab.,

I allot upon going to such a place. This verb is used only in conversation, and that, chiefly in the interior of New England. But it is never heard among people of education. 1836(1838) Haliburton Clockmaker ( st ser) 88 NEng, My dear, says she, I ordered 1

1

out

all

it

all-overs

/

46

— you know they are a goin to

set

you up

for

Governor next year, and I

we must economise or we will be ruined. 1847 Hurd Grammatical

allot

on as, "I allot on, or 'lot on his ability and readiness to aid me." 1889 (1971) Farmer Americanisms, A New England colloquialism. "Senator W. seems to Allot Upon, To have allotted upon a course that is hardly to be commended." Banner of 1931-33 LANE Worksheets nwRI, I'm lottin' to Light (Boston). I'm allottin'. go Corrector

6,

1

Allot on, or

.

.

on, for rely

.

.

.

.

.

out adj Cf all

all

'lot

in

Exhausted, lacking energy. LANE Map 482 (Exhausted) 1 DARE (Qu. X47) Infs FL25, NJ69, All 1941

cnCT, All

Inf,

1966-70

out.

KK30)

out; (Qu.

Inf MSI, All

out.

Out of sorts; having a feeling of general discomfort. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. BB5) Inf KY28, Feel all out todav; (Qu. BB39) Infs SC58,TN12, All out. 3 Drunk. 2

1969

out

DARE (Qu. DD15) InfIL35, come in free exclam For

All out.

varr see quots

game of hide and

seek: =all (in) free. EE15) 8 Infs, All outs in free; Infs KS13, MI 19, OH7 All out come in free; IL 6, OR3, All out are in free; WV5, 3, All out in free; TX6 WI60, All that are out come in free; IL 1 35, TN6 All All outs free; WI29, All that's on the outside the other outs in free; IA4 come in free; OK9, All that's out's in free; C026, All who are out comes

In the children's

1965-70 1

DARE (Qu. ,

1

in free.

outdoors n Also

— Jimmy K's statement to

Ashey [=Asia].

to speak of the

out-doors, and

all

some

1867 Lowell Biglow 23

thru-by-daylight train, with

all

.

b

An

1969 prices.

exorbitant

.

.

fee.

DARE FW Addit neCT, 1982 DARE File cMA,

—

They charge you all outdoors huge said it this morning at the post office

I

when I mailed a package to England: "This is going to cost all outdoors."

compar

as big (hard, slow) as all outdoors: Cf all get-outdoors 1825 Neal Brother Jonathan 1 .III (DA), Stuffy feller (that bear) as ever you see'd; big as all out o' doors. 1840 Haliburton Clockmaker (3d ser) 78, A-lookin' as big as all out doors. 1941 AmSp 16.21 s\N,MO, Big as all outdoors. 1942 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN 5 (as of 1890s), The natural man was not content merely to say something was big; no, it was "as big as a whale" or "as big as all out doors." 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.514, It's as hard as all-outdoors to make money now. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. HH22b, Talking about a very mean person, you might say, 2 in

Something

phrr,

e.g.,

in the extreme.

.

1

.

.

.

.

OH

religious revival]

— Made me

all-overishness n

?

feel all-overish.

obs

=all-overs n 2. 1846 Smith Theatr. Apprent. 216 (DAE), A feeling of all-over-ish-ness, like that experienced by a timid child while enjoying (?) the luxury of a cold shower-bath. 1874 (1895) Eggleston Circuit Rider 61 IN (as of cl 800), I feel a kind of all-overishness myself. I 'low we'll have the fever in the bottoms this year.

all-overness n =all-overs n 3. in 965 AmSp 40. 1 27, [Song verse, from "Oh, What a Row!":] I'm seized with an alloverness, I faint! I die! 1

1820

1

DARE (Qu.

BBS) Inf IL66, The

all-overness [laughter].

usu prec by the; rarely sg the all-over uneasiness, apprehension, or nervousness. chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map See also all-ins, the 1884 Harris Mingo 127 GA, She looks lonesome, an' she's got one er them kinder fur-away looks in her eyes that gives me the all-overs. 1891 (1900) French Otto 165 AR, I jes' take the all-overs every time I see paw getherin' his gun to go out. 1917 DNA. 407 wNC, MA, Every time I go to

all-overs n 1

pi,

Feelings

of

git the all-overs. 1942 Rawlings Cross Creek 67 FL, I Creek with such a phobia against snakes that a picture of one in the dictionary gave me what Martha calls "the all-overs." 1942 AmSp 1 7. 1 30 IN. 1951 Craig Singing Hills 2 1 8 swVA, NC, It gives me the all-overs to have a gun pointed in my ribs. 1952 Brown A C Folkl. 1.514 wNC. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. GG13b, When something keeps bothering a person and makes him nervous, he may say, "It gives me the ") 22 Infs, esp Inland Sth, GA, IL, TX, All-overs; (Qu. Weakness from fear: "When she saw the dog coming at her she GG26, ") IN5, The all-overs; GA74, She took the all-overs; (Qu. got II29b, The unpleasant effect that person has on you: "He just ") Inf TX35, Gives me the all-overs.

studyin' about

came

it I

1

to Cross

r

.

.

.

.

.

") Infs DC8, LA 17, "He's meaner than (Qu. A 18) Inf MD14, Slow as all outdoors.

all

old-fash

1833 Sketches D. Crockett 52 TN, I wish I may be shot if I know how I but I tell you what, it made me feel quite all-overish. al894 Brewer Diet. Phrase & Fable 22, All-overish. A familiar expression meaning .. not exactly ill, but by no means well. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, All-overish Feeling confused or abashed. 1916 Howells Leatherwood God 15 (as of c 1850), [The mysterious appearance and then disappearance of a strangely dressed, unusual figure at a

1969

MA, Ourn's the fust ou'doors for deepot. cl960 Wilson Coll. Everything. 1968 DARE csKY, All out-of-doors, also all outdoors (Qu. GG19b, When you can see from the way a person acts that he's ") Inf feeling important or independent: "He seems to think he's CT13, All outdoors. parts of

somewhat

Physically or mentally uneasy; apprehensive.

2 =all-overs n 2.

all out-o(f)-doors

la The whole world; everything; everyone. 1846 Quincy (IL) Whig 17 Feb 2/2 (DA), I was going President's messige

all-overish adj

1

,

1 ,

all

n

all-over-fidges See fidget

1

1

,

1

=anti-over exclam. 1968 DARE(Qu. EE23a) Inf M036, All-over.

felt;

1

all

tall-over exclam

over adv phr Thoroughly, completely. 1844 in 1930 Meine Tall Tales 152 GA,

I

MS71,

felt

all

All outdoors:

over in spots

spected every minit he'd nip me. 1942 (1971) Campbell Cloud- Walking 1 1 2 seKY, Two blankets, one all over red and one purple and black in stripes. 1950 WELS, 1 Inf, seWI, I've got to [=gooseflesh?], for

wash

my

I

hands; they're

all

over sticky,

all

over messy.

2 followed by a noun: Entirely covered with.

Cf all

adj

1

2'

[OEDS

1855-—]

to sew an 1890 Ho wells Boy's Town 1 13 sOH, You got somebody egg up in [new calico]; and when the egg was boiled it came out all over the pattern of the calico. 1904 ( 1 969) Robins Magnetic North 1 32 AK, When he asked me to hand it to him I nearly stuck fast to it. It's all over 4.272 NE, Hand me that blursh [=brush], I'm all over syrup. 1916 had put (as of 1800s), He cat hairs. 1954 Forbes Rainbow 107 on one of those heavy blue and white aprons, all over pockets, workmen sometimes wear to keep their tools and oil cans in. 1954 .

.

DN

NH

.

.

.

.

•all-

overs

n

pi

1

(GG13b, GG26, 1129b)

2 General feelings of discomfort, illness, or vexation, chiefly R See also all-overishness, all-overness 2, all-ins,

east of Missip

the

A term employed by all classes 1893 Shands MS Speech 70, All-overs mean a feeling of extreme annoyance or vexation; as, "That man is so trifling it gives me the all-overs to look at him." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB5, A general feeling of discomfort or illness that isn any one place in .

extremely nervous and impaHarder Coll. cwTN, All-over fidgets tient. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, He is all over sores. 1968 DARE (Qu. X58) Inf CA87, All over goose bumps. .

.

.

.

to

't

47

particular)

1

all

The all-overs; 9 Infs, All-overs; GA8, The all-over.

3 Infs,

of 23 Infs are east of Missip

[22

R.].

3 Feelings of exhilaration; 1895 J.C. Harris in 1938

See also all-overness

thrills.

SW Rev.

23.220 GA,

Wakefield] touches me more deeply — others. severely — than

it

gives

me

It

the

I

saw your white

all-overs the

day

overs adv phr

all

she wrote,

't

1

answered, "but

offish.

cl960 Wilson

allow to being offish."

I'll

DARE (Qu.

1968

MM 12a,b,

.

.

"In all directions, "

and they went

")

Inf

NJ50,

.

"He shot

.

into a

All overs.

To plan, intend, chiefly Sth, Midi 1873 Twain - Warner Gilded Age 2 1 eTN, Hit warn't no time for to sell, he say, so he fotch it back agin 'lowin' to wait tell fall. 1875 Harte Tales of Argonauts 1 1 MO, I allowed to go to bed. 1891 Ryan Pagan 235 Allegheny Mts PA, Now what you allow to do about it? 1892 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 71 IN [Footnote:], Allow has sometimes a sense of purpose or expectation, as when a man says, "I 'low to go to town to-morry." 1902 2.228 sIL. 1906 DA' 3.1 14 sIN, I don't 'low to go. 1909 DN 3.347 eAL, wGA. 1941 Williams Strange Woman 235 (Hench Coll. J, I don't allow to be made a fool of by the two of you.

1937 Hall

Smoky

Coll.

worst; best.

wNC,

was the all-overst sight I ever seed! 1942 Hall wNC, eTN, [All-overst] Not heard in natural

It

Mi. Speech 3 1

speech, but reported in such uses as 'the all-overst

cow

I

ever seen,'

.

(i.e.,

.

'the all-overst achin'

I

ever had,'

the most 'no account' cow). This

and is apparexpression evidently developed from the adverb all over ently not semantically related to all-overs 'nervousness.' 1972 Hall Sayings Old Smoky 36, All-overst. Apparently a generalized intensive for 'best' or 'worst,' with a notion of 'best over all,' or 'worst of all.' "He's the .

all-overst fellow

I

ever saw," said of one "who's

of fun, a practical

full

5 To attribute. 1953 Goodwin It's Good 143 sIL

Hist,

ns 27.136, All over the floor

.

.

.

Tired; exhausted.

Occasional.

To suppose,

1

think, consider.

ironic use, senses 1

quot

1

892]

chiefly

[OED

1

580

—

perh because of

;

and 2 are often difficult to distinguish: Sth, Midi somewhat old-fash

see

(1936) Parry Jrl. 388 PA, We did not start until 10: having another Wilderness of ridges, mountains, hills allowed to be somewhat dangerous. 1801 Thomas' Spy or Worcestor Gaz. (MA) 1 1 Nov 2/3, We allow it was merit for Mr. Jefferson not to hinder it. 1892 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 7 1 IN, [Footnote:] Allow is nearly the equivalent of guess in the Northern and Middle States, and of reckon in the South. It agrees precisely with the New England calk 'late. Like all the rest of these words it may have a strong sense by irony. When a man says, "I 'low that is a purty peart sort of a hoss," he understates for the sake of emphasis. 1894 Century Illustr. Mag. 26.872, On the north side of the Ohio River, "guess" is genteel enough for colloquial use, but " 'low" is lower class. Bartlett's "Dictionary of Americanisms" gives this word as "allow," which it rarely is except when pressed and laid away in an herbarium. 1895 1.372 seKY, eTN, wNC. 1902 2.228 sIL. 1905 3.87 nwAR, I 'lowed they said 'crazy as a loom' [sic]. 1918 5.18 NC. 1923 5.200 swMO, "I don't 'low I'll go." "I 'low he shorely must be sick." 1930 AmSp 5.388. 1931 AmSp 7.90 KY, We allow he's straight. 1937 Hall Coll. eTN. 1940 AmSp 1 5.45 sAppalachians and Ozarks. 1943 LANE Map 592 ME, Allow [is] rare; VT, Allow [is] old-fashioned. 1950 PADS 14.11 SC, We 'lowed you wudden [=wasn't] comin', so we left. 1952 Brown Folkl. 1.514. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1968-69 (Qu. JJ34, When you decide it would be to your advantage to do something, you might say, "Yes, I I'll be better off that way") Inf IN32, Allow; (Qu. GG12, "There she comes now, I she would. ") Inf AZ10, Allowed. cl970 Halpert Coll. wKY, I 'low that is true. 1 794

.

.

.

DN

DN

DN

DN

DN

NC

DARE

To

.

remark, opine, declare. 1825 Neal Brother Jonathan 28 NEng, Her

2

assert,

—

large eyes

would sparkle

—

"allowed" like the mischief. 1843 (1916) Hall New IN, She "allowed" we had better stop where we were. Ibid 432, 1 allows I kin a sort a pint out the course n'er on about as well as Bill himself kin. 1903 2.305 seMO, He allowed I couldn't do it. 1905 DA3.2cCT. 1907 3.208 nwAR. 1909 DA3.347 eAL, wGA. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 107 MS, Rabbit 'low, he did, dat he wa'n't skeered uv 'im ner nobody ilse. 1931 -33 LANE Worksheets seMA, They allowed as how they'd be there on time. 1980 DARE File DC [National news commentator:], But he [=Senator Henry Jackson] did allow that he thought Kennedy had a better chance of beating Reagan than President Carter. so the

men

Purchase

5

1

DN DN

3 Acknowledge, admit, concede. 1884 (1958) Twain Huck. Finn 214

to

1881 Harper's Mag. 63.750/2 MI, You needn't be so all-possessed poor you can't pay an honest woman for cooking your venison.

that

.

all-possessed, like adv phr As if bewitched. 1833 Smith Life Jack Downing 209

ME,

.

[He] struck his

fists

together

1856 Whitcher Bedott Papers 30 NY, Bill Jenwas a dreadful mean man, used to git drunk every day of his life kins and used to swear like all possest when he got mad. 1878 Beadle Western Wilds 1 84 IL, She dropped a pan o' hot oysters into the lap of a customer, and set him to swearin' and dancin' like all possessed. 1904 r DA' 2.426 Cape Cod (as of 1 850s). 1905 DA 3.2 cCT. 1907 DA' 3.207 nwAR. 1908 DA' 3.286 eAL, wGA. 1909 DN 3.407 ME, Act like all possessed ... To misbehave. 1916 Porter Just David 280 NEng, He an' carried on like all danced and laughed and clapped his hands. .

.

.

MA

.

.

possessed.

.

MA

.

it

Extremely.

.

allow v often aphet 'low

She should just allow

all-possessed adv

.

VT

[Black].

their ignorance.

like all possessed.

over the floor adj phr Cf ZXS X47, BB39 1959

DN

.

joker"; can mean, "There's no one like him." all

.

ME

all-overst adj [See quot 1942]

Most extreme:

Coll.

csKY.

.

All over; in every direction. flock of birds

that's

4

all

4 Long underwear. 1926 Roberts Time of Man 67 cKY, you went washing in the creek.

all

/

it?" The duke allowed it did. 1943 LANE Map 592 CT, The other fellow'd never allow 'twas a fact. 1949Guthrie Way West 160 (as of 847), "Ma was scared to walk." "Not afeared exactly," she

Nonesuch, don

MO

1

[=The Vicar of "all-overs" more

overs

n

alls

[OED

pi

Biljy,

it

beats the

Bib, 1721-1763,

"still

a

common

phrase in

old-fash

Usu

in phr pack up one's ~: All one's possessions. 1830 Royall Southern Tour 1.153 (DAE), I shall not go without you, so pack up your alls and be ready. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, We packed up our alls.

pron Also

all's

alfljst

[Contr of all

+ as

pron

(4- that)]

All that.

1967 is

.

.

.

DARE FW

Addit

Heard used by

cwMA,

all's he can do I get is of Amherst in their middle or late

All's [olz]

3 or 4 natives

.

.

,

—

1975 Gould ME Lingo 35, Alst it fairly frequently. means all or "everything that." "Alst I know is what they you do to fix that leak is buy a new bilge pump."

twenties. All use

Perhaps allst. tell

It

me." "Alst

adv phr [Abbr for with all sails set] and determined manner: see quots. 1916 Macy-Hussey Nantucket Scrap Basket 124, "All Sail Hurriedly; sometimes, fully dressed. "He was going 'all sail

all sail

set, (with)

In a hurried

Set"

—

set'

for

home." 1945 Colcord Sea Language 55 ME, Cape Cod MA, and Long Island NY, The process of handling sails has contributed many phrases to shore speech. To make sail for somewhere is to start offin a hurry; with all sail set, full sail ahead, means proceeding fast, determinedly. 1

.

.

all

set See

all

setting adj phr [Prob all

all('s) set

"Becoming,

+

set ready;

but cf n

suitable, graceful. Obs. exc. Sc.,

OED

setting

and SND set v

1,

12]

good condition. 1874 Uncle Bob Letters to the Children 1 54 (Hench Coll.), I took him by the hand, and said, "Well, Sam, how do you do?" He grinned, and. in the most careless way imaginable, said, "O I'm all settin'." 1889 (1971) In good condition a term of Farmer Americanisms, All-a-setting. barnyard origin. Western in usage. "On the first good grass which they (oxen) strike, they halt a few days, and allow the teams to graze undisturbed, which makes them all-a-setting again." Overland Monthly. 1902 ( 1 968) Clapin Americanisms. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West. All ready, in

—

—

she wrote, that's phr [Perh ref to Dear John letter (OEDS dear a. 2c)] chiefly Sth, West gaining currency esp among younger speakers

all

'

MO, "Why,

all

?Sth

Scotland"]

allsie allsie

outs

in

free

/

all

the

48

That's all there is; there is no more. 1948 AmSp 23.250 nTX, [College jargon] That's all she wrote. An expression of termination. 1951 Jones Here to Eternity 35, All she'd have to do, if she got caught with you, would be to holler rape and it would be Dear John, that's all she wrote. 1 967 - 69 DARE (Qu. LL34, ") Infs AR5 1 KY53, LA2, When a road is blocked: "That is all MSI, TX18, She wrote. [3 Infs mid-aged, 2 old] cl970 Halpert Coll. wKY, "That's all she wrote" = something is over and done. 1970 DARE 1976 DARE File nCA, File cIA (as of 1940s), That's all she wrote. [Response after pouring the last drop from a coffee pot:] That's all she wrote! 1977 Smitherman Talkin 258 [Black], All she wrote, the end of something, as after finishing a huge serving of chitlins, the Sister said, "Well, that's all she wrote!" 1979 DARE File, In the last year I've heard that's all she wrote in conversation, used by people from California, Idaho, and Washington. In these contexts it simply means used up, or over (as a slide show). 1981 WI State Jrl. (Madison) 25 Oct 6.4/4 sCA, "It hurts to lose this kind of game," [Los Angeles Dodgers'] Manager Bob "Usually it's one or two innings out of Davis, then the Lemon said and that's all she wrote." Goose 1

all-spine n

SW

=allthorn 1. 1957 Jaeger 'N. Amer. Deserts 46, Here one leafed Torrey yucca

.

.

also finds

all-spine (Koeberlinia spinosa

,

.

.

.

.

the broad-

and the

),

thorny condalia.

,

.

.

.

Everything is ready! Let's go! 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 35 SW, Each teamster vies with his fellows who shall be soonest ready; and it is a matter of boastful pride to

— "All's — some teamster "All's

be the

to cry out

is finally heard from responded from every quarter. 1947 Trail & Timberline June 92/1 (DA), His "All set!" is the signal for the lead man to move smoothly out along the ledge. 1968 Adams Western Words, All's set! The call of the freighting teamster in answer to the wagon master's Catch up! signifying that the teamster is ready to

first

set!"

.

"All's set!"

.

.

set," is directly

.

.

pull out.

.

allst

See

all's

pron

.

— An expression of frustration. DARE (Qu. GG22a, When you have come to the end ofyour

2 That's the end of my patience!

1965-70 patience,

you might say, "Well that's

") Infs

MS8, OK6, TX95,

All she wrote. [All Infs are mid-aged]

allsie allsie

outs

in

In the children's

free exclam

game of hide and

standing adv [Transf from naut use: all standing left without dismantling or unrigging (OED stand v 24, 1791 —»)] NEng

all

old-fash

Fully clothed.

seek:

= all-ee all-ee out(s)

in

free

1977-78 Foster Lexical Variation 79 NJ,

Allsie allsie outs in free

.

.

1

1840 (1841) Dana Two Years 373, He [the mate] turned-in 'all standand was always on deck the moment he was called. 1846 Levinge Echoes from Backwoods 1 .235, He had turned in with all his clothes on, as he had done during the three nights on board the schooner, what the Yankees term 'all standing,' viz., in boots, great coat, &c. 1938 Tripp Flukes 218 (as of 1925), The men left their work at midnight, or whatever hour they were relieved, and tumbled into the bunks, "all ing,'

MA

[Inf]-

all's left all

set exclam

all('s)

See

all's out('s)

(come)

sorts of adj phr chiefly Sth,

in free

S Midi

standing" as the sailors say, that with oil.

old-fash

Thoroughgoing; excellent. 1841 in 898 Griswold Corresp. 93 VA, I wish you to write "all sorts" of an article for the Messenger. 1847 ( 962) Robb Squatter Life 1 33 MO, She was all sorts of a gal thar warn't a sprinklin' too much of her. 1852 Haliburton Traits .229 NEng, If you can only get Kit rid of them 1859 ( 968) Bartlett little failings, you'll find him all sorts of a horse. Americanisms, All sorts of. A Southern expression, synonymous with expert, acute It is a prevalent idiom of low life, and often heard in the colloquial language of the better informed. A man who in New England would be called a curious or a smart fellow, would in the South be called all sorts of a fellow. 1899 ( 1 9 1 2) Green VA Folk-Speech 65, All sorts

and no cider See

all

talk

all

tanto See ataunto

is,

cider

with

all

their clothes on, just saturated

n

1

1

—

1

1

.

of.

.

.

.

.

Expert; excellent; acute; capital; expert in

all's out('s)

many

west of Appalachian

Mts See Map See

chiefly

game of hide and seek: =all (in) free. 1965-70 DARE(Q\i. EE15) 33 Infs, chiefly west of Appalachian Mts,

In the children's

WV, OH,

come

west of Missip R, All's out's in free; Infs AZ12, 15, PA1, 229, TX28, All's free; CA1 14, IL24, WI62, All's out in free; IL143, SD5, All's in; ID5, MI92, All's out are in free; CA2, 1 36, All's out is in free; CA166, All's in free; MN42, All's left; OK55, TX33, All's out (come home free); M07, All's out that's in free. All's

out

far means entirely as the deeper I can go

in free; 12 Infs, 11

can

it

DN 2.

fly,"

.

.

is

peculiar

.

.

.

All the

35 seNY, selA, eNY, Here's all that's all the far I got that's all the farther I got. 1 904 2.41 6 nwAR, That's all the far I've read. 1905 3.60 NE. 1908 3.286 eAL, wGA, All the This is a very common usage, found even among the well educated in such expressions as 'all the far,' "That's all the fast I can run." 1909 3.392 nwAR, All the farther. 1911 3.537 eKY. 1912 3.510 wIN. 1914 4.158 ePA, All the further. 1927 AmSp 2.347 wcWV. 1931 AmSp 7.19 .

also all-ee all-ee out(s)

in free

esp

1

"All the far he can run," "All the fast

ways.

(come) in free exclam Forvarphrrseequot

the foil by an adj or adv usu of positive or compar degree, e.g. far or farther, to form an adj phr of superl degree meaning as far as or the farthest, chiefly Sth, S Midi when the adj is of positive degree; chiefly Inland Nth, N Midi when the adj is comparative. See Maps 1891 PMLA 6.175 TN, That's all the high (or higher) he can jump. 1893 Shands MS Speech 7, The general use of allin such expressions as,

all

far.

.

1901

1

.

;

DN DN

.

.

.

;

DN

.

.

.

DN

.

DN

DN

swPA. 1946F/lDS6.4SalemVA. 1950/14 AS

DN

14.1 1 SC. 1951 PADS 28.247 csPA. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, "That's all the fast this horse can run." "That's all the further I can go." Asfar ispTobablylesscommonthanallthefarorallthefurther. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX 49, The Midland construction all the further (farther) is not in general use. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. LL34, When a road

15.51 cnlN.

.

.

1953

AmSp

.

.

allspice See Carolina allspice •all

the far

(at

ajj

the)

(Qu. LL34)

49

all

the birds

the

in

wood

all

/

two

is blocked: "This is all. we can go. ") 36 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, (The) far. [Of all Infs responding to this question, 34% were coll-educ; of those giving this response, 19% were coll-educ]; 189 Infs, chieflv Inland Nth, N Midi, (The) farther [49% were coll-educ]; 1 37 Infs, chiefly Inland Midi, (The) further; DE7, FL7, TN36, VVA1, (The) futher [40% Nth,

N

were coll-educ]

—

initial all

sometimes

1973 Allen

LAUM

1.275

Upper

MW,

Phrases with

all thefar, all thefarther, all thefarthest, all thefurthest

— are

usage handbooks as unacceptable but in the U[pper]

listed in

M[idwest] reveal no distinctive contrasts

among the inf.

levels

.

.

.

They

are evenly distributed except for their absence in Nebraska.

the way through + var

•all

(Qu. LL26b)

and many thorns but no leaves. 1942 Castetter Pima & Papago Ag. 22 seAZ, Commonly associated shrubs are lotebush (Zizyphus lycoides) and allthorn (Koeberlinia spinosa). 1960 Vines Trees SW 299, Spiny Allthorn ... is a perfect example of adjustment to desert conditions, with the green thorns and twigs carrying on the photosynthetic process. 1967 DARE FW Addit wTX, Allthorn It is said that Christ's crown was made from this bush. .

.

.

2 =goatbush. TX 1942 Amer. Joint Comm. Horticult. Nomenclature Std. Plant Names Allthorn C. 1960 Vines Trees 600, Allthorn 93, Castela texana Young twigs grayish green ending in slender, sharp, Castela straight spines which give rise to numerous lateral spines. 1970 Correll .

.

wood

all

the birds

all

the go See go n

in

the

the horns

all

See feathers, feathers, animal's feathers

.

SW

.

.

.

.

in

the

adj

phr

.

Allthorn Plants TX 911, Castela texana spinescent branchlets and axillary spines.

wood

See feathers, feathers, animal's

feathers

.

.

.

.

.

.

Low

.

.

shrub with

3 =junco n 2 2. TX 1960 Vines Trees SW'687, Texas Adolphia (Adolphia infesta) Also known under the names of Junco or Allthorn, but these names also apply to Koeberlinia spinosa, which this shrub somewhat resembles. .

all

more

(the)

much

All that, as

as: see

quots.

said contemp4.304 IA, A man of my acquaintance tuously, "That's all the more you know." 1938 Rawlings Yearling 1 84 nFL, Now a wash tub o' biscuits is all more is needed.

AmSp

1929

all

the tea

in

.

China See tea

in

.

China

always, constantly.

may be moved within the verb phrase (usually before the main verb, but We'd all the time get in they may precede the auxiliary) .

all

the

all

.

.

.

She's

.

all

.

.

Cf

[Perh from alway arch form of always]

(the) time

Always, constantly. 1976 Wolfram -Christian Appalachian Speech

99,

We's

the

all

way

talkin'.

way through adv phr Midl,TX See Map

all

the

Through and through; 1965-70 Irish

10

Infs,

adj phr Similarly all arms and legs, all feet, ^fingers, ~hands (andfeet), ~knees and elbows [OED thumb 5c

Orig and still freq in phr, one's fingers are ~ but also said of the person: clumsy, awkward. could do 1838 Neal Charcoal Sketches 117 Philadelphia PA, He

DARE

Also

all

through

chiefly Nth,

N

"He's Words meaning 'entirely' (Qu. LL26b, ") 33 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, TX, All the way through; chiefly Nth, N Midi, All through. .

.

.

.

.

.

thumbs;

1

My

Wilson

csKY, All

Coll.

arms and legs. 1952 Brown NC thumbs (of a clumsy person). cl960 thumbs a very awkward person. 1965-70

hands and

Inf, All

Folkl. 1.407,

hands and

no

fingers;

(Qu.

all

time See

all

to

adv

;

CA169,

HH15)

all (the)

[OED

arms and legs [laughter] ME6, TN 1 5, All feet;

MN16,

left feet:

feet:

all

—

very awkward, clumsy person) 27 Infs, scattered,

All thumbs: Inf GA53, All All

feet, all

fingers are all

DARE (Qu. HH21, A

All fingers:

MI 120,

All hands;

MN30.

and elbows; CA2, All thumbs and CA106, IN70, All thumbs.

All knees

Infs

time

15—1684; W3

"obs.

Completely, thoroughly. 1950 WELS, Inf, ceWI, Our team beat the 1

"\

relic

visitors all to.

to hollow See all hollow

all

in every respect.

.

almost anything if. by a singular fatality, all his fingers were not thumbs. 1850 Melville White-Jacket 4%, Clumsy seamen, whose fingers are all thumbs. 1939 AmSp 14.261 sIN, A clumsy individual is 'as awkward as a cow,' or 'His fingers are all thumbs." 1950 WELS (A very awkward or clumsy person) 3 Infs, WI, All feet; 1 Inf, All hands: 1 Inf, All

ID5, NY54. All

the time wantin' to watch something.

way adv phr

thumbs

way through

the

.

1927 Kennedy Gritny 223 sLA [Black], Wat make you all time wan' be so scoffish? 1932 (1974) Caldwell Tobacco Road 16 GA, This raft of women and children is all the time bellowing for snuff and rations. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, He's all the time a-talking about his folks. 1967 DARE Tape AZ4. He was all time singin' that song. 1968 DARE (Qu. Y9) Inf GA28, He's all the time tagging after him; (Qu. GG14) Inf GA30, He's all the time gripin'. 1976 Wolfram- Christian Appalachian Speech 99, Adverbial phrases of time (typically referring to frequency)

.

all

all

.

1546—]

(the) time

fights

through See

~leftfeet,

adv phr chiefly Sth, S Midi Cf all the way Before a verb (where std usage places the adv phr after the verb):

all

all

.

all-to-pieces adj obs

.

Thorough-going; excessive. 1856 Whitcher Bedott Papers 123 cNY, She was an

all-to-pieces snuff-

taker.

allthorn n, also attrib 1

A usu leafless, much-branched and very spiny green-stemmed

shrub/tree (Koeberlinia spinosa) native to arid regions of the

Southwest. Also called all-spine, corona de Cristo, crucifixion thorn 2, junco n 2 1 1908 Hornaday Camp-Fires 226 AZ, Of greater interest than they were the All-Thorn Bushes with large, fleshy stems for the storage of water.

^all-turner n

A

type of scrub baseball. 1968 DARE (Qu. EE1 1, Bat and ball games for just a few players) Inf VA33, All-turners two batters; they ran all the way around reduced

—

base all

lines.

two

[OED

adj. pron, conj all

All

lists all

Also occas in redund phr all two both two without example alongside all both

.

alius

aloeroot

/

50

cl420, and derives both from Fr tous les deux. These forms are prob unrelated to U.S. all two, which in S Atl, esp SC, GA coasts is prob an African caique; in Nth, examples from speakers of Ger background are prob caiques of alle beide an example of coincidental borrowing from unrelated sources] See also all both, both two

—

Both. 1838 till

.

Almighties n (

1

852) Gilman

Maus Ben and him

5.

Matron 94

fell

asleep, all two.

1867 Allen Slave Songs xxvii

1888 Jones Negro Myths 17 GA coast [Gulall two bin a spark at um an a cote um. IbidlS, Dem all two lub fish. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 1 39 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], Alltwo come out de same nes' en' alltwo hatch out de same time. Ibid 287 [Glossary], Alltwo both, also each. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 289 nFL, He says do he meet Twink and Oliver, he'll kill 'em all two. Ibid 227, I couldn't watch him and grind corn, all two. 1 941 Writers' Program SC Folk Tales 30 [Gullah], En all two bot' 'e foots stick! 1950 PADS I 4. 1 1 SC, All I wo. .. Gullah. 1966-69 DARE{Qu. LL2 1 Two things 'Do you want the red one or the blue one?' 'I want ofthem. ) Infs GA28, MA58, MS7, SC9, All two; SCI 1 All two [Reported heard but not used]; SCI 9, 40, All two [Resp sugg by FW]; C07, All two, "for fun"; PA149, All two [laughter]. 1982 DARE File csWI (as of c 1945), We're going out tomorrow with all two both of our tractors. [Young male speaker of Ger descent] "all-two bofftogedder."

Buh Wolf an Buh Rabbit

—

,

.

.

Cf DS

pi

DARE (Qu.

1966

[Gullah], Sister Nelly begin for sing

SC [Gullah], Both they seldom use; generally "all-two," or emphatically, lah],

Kephart Highlanders 326 sAppalachians, "Git the almanick and see (as though she were bidding him look to see when the moon would be full). 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 59 eTN, wNC, Almanac ['olrrisnik]. 1949 AmSp 24.106 G A, Amanik ['amanik] Almanac. 1968 DARE Tape GA25, Almanac ['olmanek]. 1968 DARE Tape IN20, Take an almanac ['ama.nek], see where the moon is.

when that feller'll full!"

they are,

1123,

.

GG19b.

Joking names for the people who the best society of a community: The 1123,

are, or think

Inf SC21,

)

Almighties.

almighty adj Usu |Dl'maiti|, also ja'maiti, |Dl'mamti| Pronc-spp a 'mighty, almighnty

occas

D'maiti|,

Std senses, var forms. 1910-25 in 1944 ADD cNY, [ol'mamti]. 'Gosh Almighnty.' Common. 1914 DN4.ll ME, nNH, Gosh a'mighty! 1926 YoWmer Sun-Up 54 wNC, This country belonged to us 'cose God A'mighty let us be born here. 1936 AmSp 1 1.247 eTX, [a'maiti], [.o'maiti] in the phrase 'God almighty' are widespread and are by no means limited to illiterate speech. 1942 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN 11 (as of 1890s), Gosh-a.

.

.

mighty.

,

almighty adv Cf mighty Extremely. 1833 Jones Green Mt. Boy I.iii VT (DAE), I shall look almighty fierce. 1878 ( 977) Stowe Poganuc People 35 CT, "Yis," said Hiel, "but Sim's almighty plucky." 1941 LANE Map 426, Inf, nwCT, Almighty glad. 1942 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN 12 (as of 1890s), "Almighty hot." Slang. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, "It's almighty hot today." Almost a 1

alius See always

1

allus-ago See always-ago adv, n allust, alluz all all

was

See

See always

cuss-word.

almond n Usu

all is

which(a)way(s) adv phr Var of every whichaway(s) 1966-69 DARE(Qu. 12a, "He shot into ajlock ofbirds and they

MM

went

")

.

|'aem3n(d), 'am9n(d)|,infreq|'om3n(d)|;sp-proncs

I'aelmand, 'al-|

commercially.

.

Inf IL39, All which ways; SC2, All whichaway.

wool and a yard wide adjphr somewhat old-fash See also all leather, all oak and iron bound, all wool and no shoddy

all

Orig of cloth, but transf generally: of high quality, genuine,

You want

to pick out a thorough-

is, all wool, a yard wide, but just right. 1891 Maitland^wer. Slang Diet. 1892 Congressional Record 10 Feb 1038/1 NY, I desire this House to understand that the people of the State of Ohio are "all wool and a yard wide" on the subject of sustaining this Government, its glory, and its character. 1908 DN 3.286 eAL, wGA, All wool and a yard wide ... All right, having or practising no deception, straight, honest, genuine. 1912 DN 3.570 wIN. 1915£W4.180swVA. 1922ZW5.155 IN,AL,VA,NE. 1927 AmSp 2.347 cwWV. 1929/lmSp5.120ME, A stingy man was said to be "tighter than the bark on a tree," an especially fine one to be "all wool and a yard wide." 1946 CA Folkl. Qrly. 5.235 wOR. 1966 Barnes- Jensen Diet. UT Slang 3, 1 tell you the man is all wool and a yard wide we can depend on him 1 966 - 69 DARE (Qu ") Infs AZ1 1, U32, About a very generous person: "He's NE8, All wool and a yard wide; (Qu. BB47, In the best of health and ") Inf ID5, All wool and a yard wide; (QR spirits: "I'm feeling pi 44) Inf NC6, "He's all wool and a yard wide" said of someone real

bred, that

—

.

.

.

.

.

—

nice

and kind.

1

.

.

trustworthy; genuine

stuff;

not

filled

or adulterated.

See alley n 2

.

.

.

i'aemandz]; CA69, ['amandz]; AL1 1, ['almsnz]; MOl 1, [alrrnnd]; (Qu. H80) Inf TX85, ['olman] candy; (Qu. H82) Inf NJ37, ['jelmand] bars; (Qu. T16) Inf CA1 19, ['asman]; (Qu. X21c) Inf MOM, ['a:lmMid] eyed; (Qu. X28) Inf NY75, ['aelmsn] headed.

almond

letter See letter

SW

almud n [Span]

arch

A unit of dry measure of approximately one peck; see also quot 1892. 1 849 ( 906) Audubon Western Jrl. 113, Beans are seventy-five cents an "Almud." 1892 DN .244 swTX, Almud: a dry measure, one-twelfth of about a peck. Also as much as may be sowed with an almud afanega of wheat or corn. 1900 Smithwick Evolution of a State 42 TX, An act prohibiting any one person from planting more than an almud (one1

1

.

.

,

1934 (1975) Mawson Diet. Foreign a measure of capacity of varying content, equal in

sixth of a bushel) of tobacco seed.

Almud

Terms,

.

.

aloe n Either of two agaves: Agave americana and esp false aloe 1. 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 187, Agave Americana, Flowering Aloes. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. I, Aloe, American Agave, Americana Agave Virgin[sic]. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 66, False aloe ica Although the custom is very prevalent, it is quite improperly that the agaves are called aloes and century plants. 1975 Hamel-Chiltoskey Cherokee Plants 23, Aloe, false aloe Agave virginica. 1

.

.

I'olma.naek, 'al-|, also chiefly

.

.

.

—

.

—

ally-waiter See alley-waiter

NEng, S Midi

I'Dlma.nik, -nek, 'aelmanik| rarely I'ams.nek, -nik| almanick, amanik

2 See aloeroot.

Pronc-spp

Std sense, var forms. 1695 in 1 897 ME Hist. Soc. Doc. Hist. 5.429, [The Indians] Left behind them a small bag in which was his beads Crusefix Almanick: & som other tromperey. 1768 in 1912 Augusta Co. VA Chronicles 1.462, To.. 2 alminicks, 1 alminick. 1891 DN 1.123 cNY, ['aelmgnik, 'olmanik]. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Almanick. 1911 DN 4.407 wNC, NEng, KY, neOH, IL. 1923 DN 5.200 swMO. 1926 .

.

.

.

almanac n Usu

.

Texas to about a peck.

wool and no shoddy adj phr [shoddy inferior fabric manufactured from reclaimed wool] =all wool and a yard wide. 1946 CA Folkl. Qrly. 5.235 wOR, It's all wool and no shoddy. It is

all

ally

1

Std sense, var forms. 1847 Hurd Grammatical Corrector 78, Almonds [Incorrectly pronounced:] ['aelmunzj. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 66, Ammon Almond. 1933 AmSp 8.2.45 neNY, There is a general tendency to sound the [1] in almond. 1936 AmSp 11.23 eTX, Almond ['aernwn]. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. I53)InfsCAl 13, 1 18,['aem;>nz];CA97, .

1882 Peck Peck's Sunshine 85 WI,

common where the fruit is known only ammon See also 94 LANE Map

278

.

reliable, in the best condition.

esp

Pronc-sp

aloeroot n Also aloe =colicroot 2. Vulgar 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 37, Aletris Farinosa names Aloroot [sic] The root contains an intense bitter emulsive .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

resin, soluble in

Alcohol, somewhat similar to Aloes, but less cathartic.

is indige1892 (1974) Millspaugh Amer. Med. Plants 111, Aloe root nous to North America, where it frequents the borders of wet, sandy or swampy woods from Florida northward, especially at the seaboard. .

:

—

.

aloes to catch meddlers

51

1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 40, Aletris Farinosa

mon Names: Whitetube

stargrass.

.

aloes to catch meddlers n [Metath of layoes layovers ~] =layovers to catch meddlers. 1927 AmSp 2.409 GA, TN. aloha n out

|a'loha|

[Haw]

chiefly

.

.

.

Com-

aloe, aloeroot.

.

~

which see

for

recognized through-

US

Love, kindness, sympathy, good feeling; often used as a greeting, hence also, the greeting itself. 1820 in 1931 Bemice P. Bishop Museum Special Pub. 17.18 HI, The first salutation was similar to our manner of introduction, that of giving the hand and Alohah, i.e., how do you do, or good morning. 1833 in 1934 Frear Lowell & Abigail 55 HI, Their [the Hawaiians'] word for 1951 AmSp 26.19 HI, Aloha, the Hawaiian salutation is "aloha." Aloha means 'love, sympathy'; greeting, is known around the world it can be used for 'hello' or 'good-by' and is a frequent reminder of the spirit of Hawaiian hospitality. 1954-60 Hance Hawaiian Sugar. 1965 Krauss Grove Farm xv HI. 1967 Reinecke-Tsuzaki Hawaiian Loanwords, Aloha probably the most important blanket word in Hawaii. According to context, it may mean anything from "love" to "mere 1

.

.

.

.

kindly feeling of the political or commercialized variety." Among native Hawaiians and occasionally among others, it is used as a salutation at

meeting or parting. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. NN11, Informal ways of saving 'good-bye' to people you know quite well.) Infs AZ1 1, [a'loo.]: CA105, GA84,' Aloha [laughter]; HI1, Aloha is said a great deal. On Maui, children wave and say this, but it is being institutionalized; MN4 Aloha: (Qu. 1 Ob, Greeting used when you meet somebodv you do not know well) Inf HI6, Aloha. 1

NN

2 In var other borrowed phrr of common currency in HI: aloha

kakou, ~ nui (kakou, loaj, ~ oe: see quots. 1843 in 934 Frear Lowell & Abigail 1 69, The British Commission has taken French leave aloha ino [Frear: profound sympathy] for a man in his predicament. 1967 Reinecke-Tsuzaki Hawaiian Loanwords 92, Aloha kakao [a'loha 'ka:kou] Good feeling among us all! V[ery] F[requent]. Aloha nui Great regard. VF Aloha nui kakou Great good feeling among us all! F[requent] Aloha nui loa Very great regard. VF Aloha oe 1. May you be loved or greeted. 2. As the well-known song "Aloha Oe" is frequently sung at the end of parties, the words have come to connote in some contexts "farewell to you." VF. ino,

~

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

aloha party n

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

HI

1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 1 1 2 HI, Aloha party ... A farewell party given for someone about to leave the Islands. The word aloha itself may be a greeting or a farewell, but an aloha party is almost always for leave-taking.

aloha shirt n HI but recognized throughout

A

loose, brightly colored

cially

1968

US

and often flowered

sport-shirt, espe-

popular in Hawaii. Jrl.

Engl. Ling. 2.80.

shirt ...

A

informal

attire

1972 Carr

Da

along of prep Also aphet 'long of 1 also all along of: Because of. [Ult from OEgelangon because of, owing to; OED: "Common in London and southern dialects generally"; EDD 1846 chiefly Midi, Sth somewhat old'] fash 1862 Winthrop John Brent 190 OR, We was a little late one morning, along of our horses havin' strayed off from camp. 1875 886) Woolson Castle Nowhere 130 Mackinac Is MI, He took all we had, and we've gone cold and hungry 'long of him. 1903 Wiggin Rebecca 67 ME,

—

( 1

HI though

.

alphabet slinger

/

Kine Talk 1 12 HI, Aloha open at the neck the

—

bright-colored, short-sleeved shirt,

of men in Hawaii.

along adv Also aphet long 1 often foil by about, back: somewhere or sometime. See also abouts, back along, down along, up along 1851 (1914) Kingsley Diary 165 CA, Worked as usual today, took-out 50 ounces and 4 dollars, which gains on our days along back. 1879 Twain Sketches 135, In the one case you start out with a friend along

DN

about eleven o'clock on a summer's night. 1905 3.2 cCT, It's been quite wet along back. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, "Along in May I'm going to buy me a horse" (or 'long). 1966 Barnes-Jensen Diet. L'T Slang 3, It was along back in January when he left the camp. 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 3 sAppalachians, I'm not sure, but I think we got home along about sundown.

Rebecca

come

to grief along of her beauty, that's certain.

1909 was long o' them Smith boys that we didn't come on time." Rare. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech. 1931 AmSp 7.91 eKY, I came early long of wantin' to get it done afore the rain. 1936 Morehouse Rain on Just 79 NC, Not one of us ought to be at licker Rease just now buried. Dead along of that same poison. 1939 never'll

DS 3.346

.

.

Hench

eAL, wGA,

"It

.

Coll.,

"because

of.

All along of is used in Albermarle County. Va. to mean dependent upon."

[EDD 1890—] TN Mts. 262,

2 With.

1884 Murfree

him hvar ter

'Pears ter

me

ez ye

1903

eat his supper along of we-uns.

MA

mought hev brought DS 2.299 Cape Cod

(as of 1 850s), Long of Along with. 1931 AmSp 6.272 KY Mts, Go along of me as fur as my cabin. 1942 Chamberlain Laverock 51 1 A, Just a ole dawg come here as a pup along of a swipe named One-eye Tuppy.

alongst prep [OED: "Along with advb. genitive -es very early corrupted to alongest, alongst, as if it were a superlative form." .

Cf EDD]

relic

Along, alongside of. 1899 ( 9 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, Alongst Along; through or by the length of. 1964 Alt. Life Spring 54 sAppalachians, Alongst (along1

1

.

.

.

side of).

aloose adj

[a inert

vowel 6

+

Sth,

loose]

Loose. 1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 244.

Midi

DN

1908 3.286 eAL, wGA, Turn that 1934Stribling Unfinished Cathedral % XL, A dern Yankee is jest as li'able to turn a nigger aloose as hold him. 1966 Wilson Coll. csKY, He got aholt of me and would not turn me aloose. 1966 DARE Tape NCI 3. The government is turning needlings [i.e.. small fish] aloose every year. 1967 DARE Addit LA 1 1 Turn aloose our dogs, 1968 DARE (Qu. 13. He came along and cats, and chickens. knocked it) Inf PA66, Aloose. hossa-loose.

.

FW

a lots adv. adj [Blend of a

Much, many:

lot

.

.

MM

.

.

.

+ lots much]

often.

1968 DARE Tape GA48A, I've killed 'em a lots; GA50A, That's another thing we'd eat a lots of we'd eat a lot of ducks. Ibid. If he's been bothering a lots. 1970 Thompson Coll. GA, I need a lots of them. Ibid GA, I shore done a lots a surveying with that old mule.

—

alow and

aloft adv phr [Transf from naut use, lit below and above the deck] chiefly NEng arch Throughout, completely. [1827 Cooper Red Rover 55, 1 think you said something concerning the manner in which yonder ship has anchored, and of the condition in which they keep things alow and aloft?] 1851 (1976) Melville Mobyboth Dick 177, A row a'low. and a row aloft gods and men brawlers! 1945 Colcord Sea Language 23 ME, Cape Cod M\, Long Island NY, Alow. Down, downwards The word is now obsolete except in the phrase, alow and aloft, meaning completely, all over. 1963 Haywood Yankee Diet. 4 NEng, What concerned the ship from deck to keel was 'alow' and when life was completely satisfactory the windjammer sailor said "all's well alow and aloft."

—

—

.

alphabet quot]

.

.

[Caique from Japanese or Korean: see

n, also attrib

HI

Any

letter of the alphabet. 1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 2 1 HI, "My name begins with the alphabets, so I have to go first in line." As used very widely by speakers in all nonstandard types, alphabet covers the meaning 'a single letter' as well as the Japanese 'a set or system of letters.' There are parallel usages word kana means not only a single kana symbol but also the total syllabary in Korean, there is no distinction between the words meaning 'alphabet' and 'letter.' 1

2 Continuously over an indefinite period of time. 1856 MI State Ag. Soc. Trans. 7.806, The result was. his corn grew right along, for it could not help it. 1913 Wharton Custom of Country 12 NY, You're living in New York, then you're going to live here right along? 1940 Sat. Eve. Post 6 April 17/1 Sthn plantation, 'What you been eating?' 'Different things along. Blackberries, and palmetto cabbage, and robins.' 1966 DARE (Qu. LL7, In small amounts, by small degrees "She didn't get the money all at once; they sent it to her ") Infs AR18, 33, A little along; SC8, Along and along. 1

—

.

.

.

.

;

^alphabet slinger n joe Cfinkslinger

A

schoolteacher.

1969

DARE (Qu.

JJ1) Inf GA72, Alphabet-slinger.

.

:

alphabets, the

alto

/

52

alphabets, the n [Prob arefto abbr T.B.]

Kine Talk 121, Hawaii already

Tuberculosis.

DARE (Qu.

1970

mon, but

still

BB10) Inf FL51, has been used.

"The alphabets"

— not

at all

com-

you up but you weren't there already." In used widely in both affirmative and negative expressions. This may be because already has long been a very common word, used as a tense-marker in reduced English without regard to finer points There is no word in the Hawaiian language equivalent to already, and native speakers of Hawaiian must have had difficulty with this much-used English word. .

alpine

fir

n

An

evergreen tree (Abies lasiocarpa) of the Rocky Mountains, found at altitudes of 2700 feet and upwards. Also called balsam 5, balsam fir, corkbark fir, pumpkin tree, white fir

—

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 52, Abies lasiocarpa Alpine Fir. 1967 DARE (Qu. T5) Inf C09, Alpine fir; (Qu. T16) Inf WA22, Alpine

tum) with usually blue flowers similar to forget-me-nots. 1953 Nelson Plants Rocky Mt. Park 132, Alpine forget-me-not

.

Eri-

among

Forms.

1861 Holmes Venner 1.118 wMA, I'm pretty nigh beat out a'ready. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 68, Have you came back a'ready. 1899 Chesnutt Conjure Woman 39 NC [Black], Fer he owed ez much ez he could borry a'ready on de skyo'ity he could gib. 1936 AmSp 1 .247 1

1

and [p'redi] are widely used, with [pl'redi] as a more 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, That road's done filled with holes a-ready. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Already is often [a'redi]. 1976 Allen LAUM 3.315 ceNE, Inf[o'redi]. [a'redi]

.

1,

2

alsike n Usu |'ael,saik|, freq varr see quots

|'sel,saek|,

occas

|'ael,sait|;

for less freq

grown for hay) 2 Infs, WI, Alsake; 1 [Informants' spp] 1965-70 (Qu. L9a) Inf C038 MN7, ['el,saek]; (Qu. L9b) Inf MI56, ['a^sask]; TN62, Alsack; .

.

.

DARE

Inf, Alsac. ['Dl,sait];

MI2, ['asl,saek] Clover Horses like it better than any other feed growed; MI47, ['ael,sa:k] clover; MD29 ['aeb,saik]; WHO, ['ol,saik]; WI44, clover.

['ael.sait]

pron

alst See all's

altar-bound adj Also ^conscious, ~crazy Eager to get married. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. AA4a) Infs AL27, MA69, MT3, Altar-bound; (Qu. AA4b) IL97, IA7, MS51, WV18, Altar-conscious; SC69, Altarcrazy.

alte

kacker See

To

alter

somewhat

alter v

kocker

sometimes euphem farm animal. 555/2 RI, Worner Knowles

old-fash,

castrate or spay a domestic or

.

elegant form.

1

B

already yet See already

—

.

trichium argenteum 1961 Douglas My Wilderness 18 CO, Low to the ground in thick mats grows the alpine forget-me-not. The flowers are tiny and fragrant. They are as blue as the sky, and in their center is a touch of gold fringed by white.

already adv Usu |,ol'redi|, also chiefly Sth, S Midi esp less educ speakers |o'redi, a'redil Pronc-sp a'ready

Senses.

1821 (1930) Hazard Jrl. oltered my four Boar Piggs. 1852 Florida Plantation Records 62 (DA), I have sheared the sheep and altered the Lambs. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT. 1908 DN 3.286 eAL, wGA. 1923 DN 5.200 swMO. 1939 LANE Map 210, Alter is described as the usual term [for male domestic animals] by [12 informants]: as the polite term by [22 informants]; as 'proper' by [1 informant]; as a farmers' term by [3 informants]; as rare by [3 informants]; and as old-fashioned by 1944 PADS [4 informants]. 2.39 sVA, LA. 1946 PADS 5.9 VA. 1950 PADS 14.11 SC. 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.514. 1958 AmSp 33.268 eWA. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, "We're going to alter that calf today." Euphemism, often among men. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K70, Words .for castrating an animal) .

.

1

[Caique: through

also already yet: Previously; before; ago.

.

PaGer from Ger schon already, other Ger settlement areas

yet, so far]

chiefly

sePA and

1

.

FW

already?

2 also already yet, yet already:

An

used to indicate

MO

.

.

.

.

.

3 Yet

— sometimes used simply

lized speech)

.

.

.

for emphasis.

HI

(in creo-

—

Yes, I been eat. 1934 AmSp 9. 123 HI, You been eat lunch already? Already is frequently added to strengthen the idea of completed action. Used 1960 Social Process 24.66 [In "List of Pidgin Errors"], Already sometimes to express simple past time, sometimes redundantly for emphasis. Ibid 67, Spotty went kill one pussy already. 1972 Carr Da .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

US, Alter

2 1 2 Infs. throughout

[of

all

Infs responding to the question,

73% were old: of those giving this response, 81% were old]. (Qu. J3a, To make a female dog so that she can breed, she must be Infs, ) 2 chiefly Nth, Altered [All Infs old]; (Qu. J3b, To make a female cat so that 1

't

she can't breed) 29 mid-aged, young].

Infs,

chiefly Nth, Altered [24 Infs were old, 4

1

alter n [Ger Alte old intensifier

emphasis, annoyance, or immediacy. [Caique: ult from Ger schon as transmitted independently by PaGer schun and Yidd shoyn] chiefly in Jewish and Ger settlement areas 1907 (1970) Martin Betrothal 109 sePA, Lizzie thought that's what made his teeth go so fast, so 's he had to get his store ones already. 1939 Aurand Quaint Idioms 29 sePA, I seen him yet a'ready! 1958 AmSp 33.232, 'Finish up, already!' from Jewish American speech. cl960 DARE File KS, In a poem [Walt] Mason wrote: "the sports are hedging already yet" ... the usage in Kansas was not far less than common and the usage is similar to what one hears around Lancaster, Pa. 1967 1968 DARE (Qu. EE20) Inf 14, I give up already. [Inf Jewish] DARE FW Addit PA 142, What wonders me, already, is why he did it. 1970 Feinsilver Yiddish 297, The use of "already" at the end of a sentence is a direct translation of the Yiddish shoyn, as in kum, shoyn! (Come, already!) "Enough, already!" and "Let's go, already!" have been widely used on TV and seem to be making inroads into general speech. 1976 Capital Times (Madison WI) 9 Mar 12/1 FL, One octogenarian, with a yarmulke on his head didn't sit down when until an annoyed Jackson started to speak. He continued to clap neighbor shouted "Sit down, already." .

.

.

1907 ( 970) Martin Betrothal 1 04 sePA, It's five years back already that he died for me. 1935 AmSp 10. 167 sePA, He has lost his respect for her long already. 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 2.5, Formerly; Before. Already yet. 1948 AmSp 23. 109 sIL [Ger settlement area], He didn't have it already. 1953 AmSp 28.246 csPA. 1958 AmSp 33.232, In the case of already, too, the Yiddish and Pennsylvania German influences seem somewhat different. Contrast, for example, 'He has lost his respect for her long already,' cited from Pennsylvania-German American speech with 'Finish up, already!' from Jewish American speech. 1968 DARE Addit PA 142, Have you eaten dandelion .

.

.

.

A dwarf, perennial Rocky Mountain plant (Eritrichium elonga-

eTX,

.

Std sense, var forms. 1950 WELS ( Kinds ofgrass

fir.

alpine forget-me-not n

A

.

"I called

is

An

old

man] PaGer Cf alter kocker

man.

1939 Aurand Quaint Idioms

1 1

sePA, Hi, y&,

alter (

.

.

endearing term)!

Jalterated ppl adj [Blend of altered + castrated, or perh *alterate (back-formation from alteration) + -ed] 1968 DARE (Qu. K25, What is a 'steer'?) Inf CA 10 1 An alterated cow. ,

kocker n Also facetious alter coyote, pronc-spp alte kacker, kaker [Yidd, ult from Ger alter old + kocker excrement] NYC and other Jewish settlement areas often derisive but also

alter

alter

used familiarly See also A.K. n

An

1, alter

n

old fogy.

18.44 NYC, A Jewish person who would not hesitate to kacker (the latter word being pronounced the way New would quite possibly be shocked to Yorkers would say cocker spaniel) hear them even spoken by another. 1968 Rosten Yiddish 14, Alter kocker Pronounced oll-ter kock-er, to rhyme with "Sol the mocker."

1943

say

.

.

AmSp

alte

.

.

.

.

.

German: alter, "old"; Der Alter [sic], "the old man." What I had rather not tell you in street argot, but kock means "defecate." "He lies in bed all day, like an alter kocker" I make no

From

the

kocker means .

.

special plea for alter kocker, but

I

certainly prefer A.K. to

its

English

1970 Feinsilver Yiddish 355, Alter kaker ... is roughly equivalent to "Old Goat" and is sometimes spoken in full or in the bilingual euphemism "Alter Coyote." 1976 Flexner America Talkmid old man, old fogey, literally "old shit" ing 222, Alter kocker equivalent, "old fart."

.

.

.

.

.

.

1930s.

.

alto

n [Span]

SW

DN

TX,

1892

1.244

now Alto: a

rare exc in place names hill, an eminence, generally without

trees.

1

altone

53

altone n [Blend of alto + baritone] 1927 Kennedy Gritny 5 sLA [Black], Three "good altone songsters" were coming to lend added luster to the meeting.

alum bloom n =cranesbill

.

.

.

.

.

Long

Std sense, var forms. 1942in 1944/4£>£nWV,riu mram|. 1949 PADSl 1.3 vtlX, Alumium [a'lumjam] Occasional. Uneducated. 1965- 68 Z).4i?£' Tape GA22,

.

wound with They use ['lumiam] cups; TNI 5, I use the gut strings They didn't have [a'lumana]: MS56, ['lumjam]; AL14, Tin pails [a'lumwn]. 1966-67 DARE (QR, near Qu. Fl) Inf AL24, Aluminum [a'lumnm]; (Qu. F31) Inf AL14, Aluminum [a'lumana]. .

.

.

am

1

3

sAppalachians, Granny lurnt

me

that allus-ago.

[From the adv]

sAppala-

See be

striped mullet (Mugil cephalus). 1960 Gosline-Brock Hawaiian Fishes 154. Mugil cephalus ('Ama

'ama)

.

.

.

The young

are silvery pelagic fishes that

may

be taken at a

1967 Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI) 3 Mar. Ama ama Mullet. Two kinds fresh and salt-water. Bake, fresh and steam. 1967 DARE (Qu. PI) Inf HI4, Mullet— Ama-ama .

.

.

—

.

.

salt water.

amadama bread See anadama amake See a inert vowel 5

bread

.

2 =cranesbill (here:

.

amakihi n [Haw]

A small yellowish-green honeycreeper (Loxops virens) common in the

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

always adv Usu

among

.

|'olwe(i)z, 'olwiz|;

.

among

a

1884 Murfree

and

1891

dressed

( 1

967) Freeman

suitable .

1894

always.

New Engl. Nun45,

a

DN

1

1

.

allers believed in goin'

1891

DN

.327 NJ, CT, Alluz.

1906

occasion.

the

for

1.164

DN 3.

1

cNY, 14 sIN,

He alius goes. 1908 DN 3.286 eAL, wGA, Alius. 1909 DN 3.392 nwAR, Alius. 1930 AmSp 5.350 IL, [olez] for always. 1931 AmSp 7.90 eKY, The neighbors.

chillern allers kept their 1

mouths

934 Carmer Stars Fell onAL

to be big 'stead of

little.

Ibid

1

shet in the presence o' their 1

77,

He wuz alwez a-wantin'

80, Brer Rabbit wa'n't al'a's de prankin'

1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 268 GA, She comes alus in time of very bad storm. 1939 AmSp 14.287 celL, [hid 'diz 's>k'meikirj3'co:is]. 1942 AmSp 17.176, [In Mark Twain's representation of Black speech:] Alwuz is the stressed, awluz the unstressed form of tricky fellow he

is

now.

TN Mis.

251. Thar hev been sech a

many folks killed on

the T'other Mounting.

many

adj phr by a sg n: many a; more than one. 1965-70 DARE FW Addits OK40, I've gone to a many dance with him: OK52. There's a many man had a rock pulled on him in the mines, a many one: ceNJ, I've had a many one come in.

Foil

Std senses, var forms. 1847 Hurd Grammatical Corrector 78, Always Incorectly pronounced: ['alurs]. 1867 Lowell Biglow 24 'Upcountry' MA, Ignorant folks is oilers sot an' wun't git used to takin' on 'em. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 63 IN, You allers take sides with that air hussy. 1871 ( 1 882) Stowe Fireside Stories 56 MA, The young fellers was allers 'mazin' anxious to be sent after Huldy. 1887 in 1941 Warfel - Orians Local-Color Stories 454 VA [Black], He al'ays handled heself to he .

—

quasi-n [OED many B la 1 590 », now std with a modibefore many, as a great many, a good many] arch

A great number of.

al'ays, allust, alluz, alus, alwez, alwuz, awluz, oilers

.

the forest trees.

many fier

.

educ speakers |'Db(r)z, 'ota(r)s|; less freq I'olez, 'ohz, Freq pronc-spp allers, alius; less freq pronc-spp al'a's,

.

amanik See almanac

less

'd(w)iz|

Islands.

.

.

often esp in rapid speech

Hawaiian

1972 Berger Hawaiian Birdlife 19, Although the Apapane (Himatione sanguineaj is undoubtedly the most common species of living honeycreeper, the Amakihi (Loxops virens) appears to be the most adaptable. follow the 1980 Bushnell Water of Kane 394 HI, The youth would amakihi, the nukupuu and iiwi, and the rare ou in their excursions

Geranium maculatum).

1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 140 (OED), The root of Geranium maculatum is considered a valuable astringent in North America, where it is sometimes called Alum root. 1901 Lounsberry 5. Wild Flowers 285, Country people also call it [Geranium maculatum] alum root in reference to that part's bitter flavor. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 62, Wild Geranium Other common names. alumroot [etc.]. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 134, Geranium maculatum alumroot The roots and rhizomes are very astringent.

.

1

The

astringent.

[Dlarz]

ago sAppala-

ama-ama n [Haw 'ama'ama] HI

.

.

raisin.

allus-ago, allers

.

night light well offshore in spring.

1813 Muhlenberg Catal. Plantarum 29 (DA), American Heuchera (alum root). 1848 Gray Manual of Botany 149, Heuchera, L. Alumroot Flowers in small clusters disposed in a panicle. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 218, HfeucheraJ Americana, alum-root, raises a stout and high stem ... Its leaves, however, are its prominent feature of beauty. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 218, Alum Root The root is strongly astringent, producing an alum-like effect when applied to the tongue. 1971 GA Dept. Ag. Farmers Market Bulletin 1 Sept 8/1, Alum-root, Heuchera americana, is an attractive foliage plant which mixes well with ferns in woodland gardens The common name of the plant is derived from its thick root which is an

.

Ill's.

alwez, alwuz See always

cliffweed, coral bells, crag-jangle, cranesbill 2, rock geranium, sanicle, split rock, wild geranium 2

.

and no Type

since allus-a-go.

Also called ground maple,

.

II

1922 Cobb Kinfolks 3 sAppalachians, Dulcimer over the fireboard. hanging sence allus-ago. 1931 AmSp 7.92 eKY, Mama's been gone

.

stalks with panicles of small bell-shaped flowers.

.

but only one Type

A long time ago.

.

alumroot n [From the astringent properties of the root] 1 Any of several spp of the genus Heuchera (but esp H. americana) which have geraniumlike basal leaves and tall slender

.

infs.

always-ago n Pronc-sp allus-ago chians somewhat old-fash

1

.

I

ago.

Kiverlid

.

.

Type

social marker.

1914 Furman Sight 70 eKY, Beseeched of her to forgive and forwhich of course, being Marthy, she had already done allus-ago. git 1922 Cobb Kinfolks 59 s Appalachians, Allus-ago I yearned to view the 1931 PMLA 36.1320 sAppalachians, "Always ago" (long ago) is sea. corrupted into "alius ago." or "allers (sharp s) ago." 1937 ( 1 963) Hyatt

summer.

.

minor

.

.

freq aphet la'lummam, a'lumsnsml, I'lumansml; occas in Sth, S Midi |(3)'lumi3m, (3)'lumJ3m|; rarely la'lumana, a'lumianl Pronc-sp alumium

.

a

.

always-ago adv Usu pronc-spp chians somewhat old-fash

aluminum n Usu

.

.

clearly a

It is

.

.

flowers, or in late

CM

/l/

sation of 1 2 scattered

1896 Bot. Gaz. 22.478, Old maids' night-caps. Madison, Wis. alum alum bloom, crow foot. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 62, Alum-bloom flourishes in low grounds Geranium maculatum and open woods from Newfoundland to Manitoba and south to Georgia and Missouri. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 134. Alum Harvest: Leaves and rhizomes in spring, just before plant bloom .

Loss of

Geranium maculatum).

root,

many

PADS 21. 20 cnSC, Allust. 1976 Allen L4 3.31 S Nl occurs in ['owe*z] or ['owrz] for always, heard from [8 Infs] ... A loss of /w/ in always produces such a pronunciation as is exemplified with [oulurz], [o+az]. and [o+f-z], heard chiefly in the conver1954

always.

[See alumroot]

1 (here:

a

/

a

many a adj phr [Blend of a many adj phr 4- many a (OED many Alb, cl250 —»), now std in many a day, many a time, without a preceding indef art]

chiefly Sth,

S Midi somewhat

old-fash

Many

a; more than one. 1893in 1901 /«^p^^«r53.2765/2NEng,Ihavewenthungryamany a time almost starved. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Amany Many people: a multitude: "a-many a one;" a great many. 1905 DN 3.68 nwAR, 'A many a poor tired woman has set up and doctored and worried over a sick baby! Common. 1940 Stuart Trees of Heaven 38 neKY, I've kilt a-many a squirrel in that tree. son. 1946 .

.

.

PADS 6.4 NC, "I've seen him a many a time." Pamlico. Common. First "a," an expletive. 1950 PADS 15.51 Grant Co IN, A many a .

.

.

manv a time." 1966 DARE (QR. near Qu. K50) Inf NM3. I've tied down a many a [horse]. 1968-70 DARE Tape YA17. I've churned a many of a gallon of milk; \'A52b. really shedded a many a tear; VA55, He killed a many a one. "I've been there a

I

1

,

amaranth

amberjack

/

54

amaranth n

ambeer n Usu

genus Amaranthus. Also called alegria, beetroot, borax, careless weed, caterpillar, cockscomb 2, curls, light-houses, love-lies-bleeding, matweed, pigweed, prince'sfeather, purslane, redroot, spleen amaranth, tumbleweed, tumbling pigweed, waterhemp, wild beet Std: a plant of the

amber

Also sp amargosa

n, also attrib

amargoso

bitter, referring to the

[MexSpan


?.")InfMD41,

.

.

.

.

To enjoy oneself. AmSp 1.368 nLA, Appreciate. To

.

applicate v [Back-formation from application, perh

infl

by sup-

apron

oj saying "thank you') 48

.

refl:

1936

1

much

One who

enjoy oneself;

i want

as,

to

tonight.'

to a person in

curries favor.

1970 DARE (Qu. II20a, Approacher.

apple-washer See apple n 7

.

.

"He's an awful

')

Inf

CA209,

apricot n

A

plicate]

AmSp

5.16 Ozarks, Applicate ...

requests.

"That

feller jes'

Paw

run him ofFn

t'

2

Other ways 1139, Midi, (Ap)preciate it.

iapproacher n [From approach make overtures the attempt to corrupt him {DA 1857 —»)]

To

unwelcome

Infs, chiefly Sth,

appreciate myself very

apple up v phr

1929

DARE (Qu.

1965- 70

68, Apple-turn-over.

WELS (A

/

A

mountain

applicated

appoint v Usu

To

insist,

said of

girl

me mornin' noon an'

to pester

one with

an undesirable night

till

fin'ly

I

suitor: jes' tol'

th' place."

|3'point|, also |3'pamt|

Forms. 1965-70 DARE (Qu.

153, Other fruits grown around here) 138 widespread exc Nth, ['epnJxat, 'eprflot, 'epa^-kat, 'epar-Jcot]; 53 chiefly Nth, ['aeprikat, 'sprikot].

B

NYC

old-fash or relic; in

occas la'pa'-ntl See Prone Intro 3.1.1 1 Also aphet 'pint Proncspp appernt, apfpjint; similarly apperntment, appintment, 'pint-

ment

Infs, Infs,

Sense.

Also apricot vine, wild apricot: =The maypop vine; also its fruit. [From the resemblance of the fruit to an apricot] chiefly S Midi 1888 Branner Plants AR 250, Passiflora incamata, which is here called a straggling, careless vine with triple-lobed leaves. 1913 Morley Carolina Mts. 68, In some parts of the mountains the people call the maypops "apricots" and eat them. 1916 Muir 7000 Mile Walk 56 (as of 1 867), A species of passion flower is common, reaching back into 'apricot,' is

Std senses, var forms. 1801 in 1 956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 307 NC, Apint. 1803 Ibid, Appintment. 1841 (1952) Cooper Deerslayer 128 NY, The Deleware and I rendezvous'd an app'intment. 1856 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 307 NC, Pinted. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 39 IN, I 'low they'll appint the Squire. al883 (1911) Bagby VA Gentleman 56, Keepin' a appintment. 1891 DN 1.152 cNY, [apaint]. 1908 DN 3.287 eAL, wGA, Appint, appintment. 1916 Howells Leatherwood God 71 OH, Freq. There was 3 'p'intments. 1930s in 1944 ADD NYC, Appoint 1942 New Yorker 1 1 July spelt appernt & heard by some as [apa^nt]. 1 7/3 NYC, Has she got an apperntment? .

.

Tennessee.

It is

and the most

here [Georgia] called 'apricot vine,' has a superb flower, I have ever eaten. 1956 McAtee Some

delicious fruit

NC 3, Apricot the maypop or passion-flower. cl960 Wilson csKY, Apricot vine The maypop or passion-flower (Passiflora incamata) and its fruit. 1964 Campbell Great Smoky Wildflowers 46, Passion-Flower Also known as Wild Apricot and Maypop. Dialect

.

.

Coll.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

appola n Also apola, appalo [CfDCan appalat in similar sense, from French apala titbit; the US use, occas considered an Indian loan, is prob infl by Span a palo on a stick] West obs Skewered meat; also, the skewers upon which meat was cooked. 1845 Fremont Rept. Rocky Mts. 113, To-night the camp fires, girdled with appolas of fine venison, looked cheerful in spite of the stormy weather. [1850 Garrard Wah-to-yah 25 KS, At every mess fire, pieces of meat were cooking en appolas; that is, on a stick sharpened, with 1902 (1968) alternate fat and lean meat, making a delicious roast.] Clapin Americanisms, Apola ... An Indian word, frequently met in the relations of the old French traders and "voyageurs" of Canada, and designating a certain variety of stew made with larks. 1948 A £ Hist. 6 Mar, Appolas, the sharpened sticks upon which meat was hung over the fire to cook. 1968 Adams Western Words, Appalos A trapper's term for alternate cuts of fat and lean meat skewered on a sharpened stick and r

—

n Usu

April

j'epnlj; in Midi, occas |'epra(i)l|; also Pronc-spp Apriel, Aprile See also 1939 3.22 36, 1976 Allen

|'eprel|,

occas

'epul, 'epa^l

I'epal,

LAUM

LANE Map

Std senses, var forms. 1855 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 307 NC,

1890 DN 1.38 1894 Riley Arma['eprail']. 1908 zindyl IN, Nex' Aprile. 1903 ZXV2.305 seMO, April DN 3.287 eAL, wGA, April ['epul]. 1922 DN 5.1 34 NE, Students favorite Aprile [ai]. and others often make these words oxytones Ibid 200 swMO, Aprile. 1936 AmSp 1 1 .244 eTX, April Hill-Type ['ep^l] Negro ['epal]. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 72 eTN, wNC, April was ['ei,prail] in the speech of a young man of Emerts Cove; a high-school girl of Cosby said that this is her grandmother's pronunciation. 1949 AmSp 24. 106 GA, ['eipra:al].

ME,

April: [eipnl], not [eipral].

The

[i] is

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

n Also April fool =pasqueflower (here: Anemone patens).

April fools

1893 Bot. Gaz. 18.421 IL, April fools Perhaps because they blossom about April 1 and are afterwards sometimes snowed under. Rockford. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 311, American .. Pasque-flower, Aprilfool, or Wild Crocus. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. 1 59 (leaf 2), Although pasqueflower is the common name most widely used, such other appellations as April-fools have variously designated .

roasted.

Apriel.

distinct.

.

,

appreciate v Pronc-spp 'predate, 'preshate

A

Forms.

.

1927 Kennedy Gritny 210 sLA [Black], 'Tain no use try'n to sattafy some people, w'en dey ain' never learnt how to 'preshate li'l favors.

B

.

W

.

.

this species.

Senses.

apron n Usu

Nth, Midi, |'e(i)paMi|; occas Pronc-spp ampron, apern, ap'n,

|'e(i)pren|; also, chiefly

|'e(i)p3n|; rarely |'e(i)mp(r)3n|

aporn, apun, apurn

A

Forms.

1805 (1905) Lewis Orig. Jrls. Lewis & Clark Exped. 3.166, Canoes with aperns, and heads of animals carved on the bow. 1891 DAT 1.163 cNY, ['ep»n]. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Apron strings Apun. 1905 DN 3.58 eNE, Intrusive n, the "nasal infix," occurs in a(m)pron, but it is rare. 1908 DN 3.287 eAL, wGA, Apern. 1910 DN 3.436 wNY, Apurn. 1936 AmSp 11.245 eTX, .

.

.

.

.

.

Apron

.

.

.

Plantation-Type ['epran], f'epan] Hill-Type ['epam] 1941 LANE Map 364, throughout NEng, Pronunciations of the type of [eipan] are described as natural or most common 4 Infs]; chiefly CT, by [ 1 1 Infs]; and as older though still in use by ..[ RI, MA, [e(0prn]; 1 Inf, csNH, [et*mpa-n]. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 7 1 eTN, wNC, ['eipa^n]. 1944 PADS 2. 1 7 sAppalachians, Aporn

Negro .

.

.

.

1

.

['e(i)p*n];

1966-70

MS85,

ME

phr (ap)preciate it: Thank you. chiefly Sth, Midi mal See Map For non-regional varr, see DS 1139 in

infor-

DARE

(Qu. F12) Infs AR47, GA1, KY41, MSI, 200) Inf MI75A, ['empran]. 1975 Gould Lingo 36, Ap'n. Correct Maine pronunciation of apron. 1976 Allen 3.296, The majority in each of the three groups have ['epam].

1

.

.

['epan].

LAUM

['epan];

(QR p

apron

Arab

/

82

The records also suggest a possible regional weighting more frequent in the Northern speech areas.

|'ep3Mi|.

.

.

,

since

I'epa^nl is

B 1

abdomen of a

infolded

crab.

MD, VA

MD, VA, This mass is very conspicuswimming crab, and causes the abdominal flap

apron by the fisherman) to be opened almost to its fullest extent. 9 1 2) Green VA Folk-Speech. 1968 DARE Tape MD39. 1970 DARE FW Addit VA47, Apron underside of body shell of a crab. 1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 16 eMD, All males have abdominal aprons in the shape of an inverted T. A young female or "she-crab" has a V-shaped apron. When she becomes sexually mature the apron changes to a semicircular bell shape with only the point of the V on top. (called

( 1

.

.

.

.

1877 Field & Forest 2.73 coastal ous, even in the rapidly

1899

[5 Infs]; as less common by [3 Infs]; and as older though still in use by [3 Infs]. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1969 DARE FW Addit MAM, Used to walk apurpose to hear him. 1970 DARE (Qu. X43b, Ifyou sleep later than usual) Inf LA2, Stayed in bed apurpose.

more common.expression by

Senses.

The

a-purpose to kill him. 1943 LANE Map 7 1 9 (On Purpose) throughout NEng, A-purpose. [Commentary:] A-purpose is described as the usual or

—

.

.

2 The skirt of a saddle. ?West See also apron strap 1893 Sanborn Truthful Woman 77 sCA, The corners of the aprons [on a saddle] are tipped with silver. 1977 Watts Did. Old West, Apron Possibly not solely a Westernism.

.

.

aquadiente, aquadinte, aquedent See aguardiente ar See there ar'

Al

See be

n

a'r See air

Arab n Usu senses,

I'aerab, 'ereb|, freq,

esp in

humorous use and non-std

Pronc-spp A-rab, Ayrab, Urb

|'ei,raeb|

1

.

.

3 A thin flexible sheet hanging or standing away from a solid body; e.g. in evaporating maple syrup: see quot. See also apron v 1965 Teale Wandering Through Winter 297 VT, Pour some of the syrup from a ladle; if it tends to thicken and form an "apron" along the edge [of the ladle], it is ready to remove from the pan.

4 The flat piece, usu of metal or stone, which protects the floor beneath a wood-burning stove or fireplace, chiefly Sth, Midi 1965-70 DARE (Qu. F12. The flat metal piece below a wood-burning 20 Infs, chiefly Sth, Midi, Apron; (Qu. D3 In stonework on the floor) Infs IA47, NJ28, VT12,

stove, to catch the ashes)

front of a fireplace

.

.

1

.

Apron.

5 The shoulder of a road. Cf DS N25 1966 DARE FW Addit eNC, [Highway sign] Do not drive on aprons. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. N25, The unpavedpart ofa graded road along the edge of the pavement) Infs CA1 1, C07, Apron. 1

apron v Also with off [apron n B3]

VT Hist,

VT

ns 27.124 neVT,

.

.

.

.

.

apron child n Cf arm baby, breast baby, floor baby, knee baby, lap child, pallet baby, waist baby A child old enough to stand by holding on to its mother's apron. 1958 Randolph Sticks Ozarks, There was one creeper, one walker, two pallet babies, one suckling, and an apron child. The census taker says, "Do all these children belong to you and Jim?" 1

1

Forms.

1903 in

.

.

DN

Arab.

2.292

eMA (as of 1850s), Vowels were pronounced long DARE FW Addits swNC, Arab ['eraeb]; MA56,

1966-69

Arabs ['eraebz]. 1978 New Yorker 6 Feb 59 GA, Until lately, nobody in Georgia had thought much about Arabs from anywhere; today, people searching for differences between various parts of the state cite as one of them that whereas north Georgians call Arabs "Ay-rabs" south Georgians call them "Urbs."

B

Senses.

A homeless child, street urchin. [OED arab 3,

1

Arab,

1

1

—

848

street

»;

1865^]

1911 Shute Plupy 179 seNH (as of 1860s), She hated boys and no wonder, and at the approach of a street Arab, the whites of her rolling eyes showed like those of a vicious broncho. 1927 Kennedy Grimy 160 sLA [Black], He steal off evvy chance he git; an' go yonder in de swamp, wid Mahaley chillun an' some dem yuther hongry li'l A-rabs from down de street.

An unkempt or wild-looking person, esp a child. See also sheik of Araby 1903 DA' 2.295 Cape Cod (as of 1850s), Arab A wild looking or acting person. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 24 Long Island NY, Cape Cod MA, eME, A reproof to a naughty child: "You little Ay-rab, you!" From the Barbary corsairs, reports of whose savagery were widely current in seafaring communities This is no doubt the origin of the landsman's street Arab. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, ['e,raeb] Sometimesa term for a wild-looking or unkempt person. "Who's that Arab a-coming into church?" Still the more common prone. 2

MA

Apron ... To coat the spoon. Jelly is In maple sugaring, Apron off. ready when it aprons. Common the liquid aprons off when it is thick enough for syrup. Common. 1959

A

.

.

.

3

A

more

.

.

.

.

huckster; a street peddler of vegetables and See also arab v 1, arabber

Balti-

fruits.

MD

1935 Sun (Baltimore MD) 5 July 4/5 (AmSp 26.72), These alien fruits summer [watermelons from Texas and Georgia] are mighty good when we get them in our markets or from the Arabs that peddle them around. 1940 FWP Guide 8, The huckster himself is probably 1940 Mencken Happy Days 57, Baltimore MD, All called an a-rab. Spring the streets swarmed with hucksters selling such things: they called themselves, not hucksters, but Arabs (with the first a as in day), and announced their wares with loud, raucous, unintelligible cries, much worn down by phonetic decay. 1956 AmSp 31.311 Baltimore MD, My but she would at times buy from a regular huckster, grandmother would never buy anything from an "ay-rab." This was around 1900. 1968 DARE (Qu. U6) Infs MD9, 31, ['eraeb]. 1980 Capital Times (Madison WI) 9 Apr 53/2 Baltimore MD, The traditional fruit and known to locals as street produce vendors of downtown Baltimore Arabber believe they are a dying breed Arabs, ay'rabbers for short Larry Crapper says he wants to preserve his only trade. 1

apron-faced adj West

of

Of a

horse: having a large white patch on the forehead. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 120.48, Apron-faced horse, a horse with a large white streak on the forehead. 1944 Adams Western Words. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West.

apron strap n, usu See quot 1977.

pi

Also

~

string

[apron B2]

West

1910 Hart Vigilante Girl 1 37 CA, The express messenger, his gun across had hitched the apron-strap around his leg, thereby keeping himself anchored. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West, Apron-straps. Also his knees,

apron-strings. Straps attached to the leather skirt of a saddle, for securing bedroll, slicker,

and

all

manner of things

to a saddle.

.

A noodle. 1936 Carmer Listen Drum 328 seNY, Still other delicacies include "apron strings" (noodles), Training Day gingersummer sausage 1

4 Transf:

more

MD

A

.

.

.

—

—

apron string n

.

MD

.

.

.

street-roaming taker of horse-racing bets.

Balti-

Cf arab v 3

.

1955 Sun (Baltimore all you find

bread.

MD) 27 May B 38/4 (Hench Coll.),

the A-rab

2 See apron strap,

is

money and

5 A Jew. 1927 Vanity Fair Nov 67/2,

apun, apurn See apron

apurpose adv [a prep 3 Midi somewhat old-fash 1

+

purpose; cf

EDD]

chiefly

NEng,

expressions are:

"Bimbo"

purpose, intentionally. 1816 in 1947 AmSp 22.285, A-purpose. 'he did it apurpose.' is not this an Americanism? 1835 Bird Hawks 1 1 30 PA, DE, We're all keeping awake, just a-purpose to be ready and handy. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech. 1903 ZW2.300eMA (as of 1850s). 1908Z)V3.285eAL, wGA. 1915 DN 4.180 swVA. 1939 Hall Coll. eTN, He came down .

pick up

Among some of Conway's more famous dumb girl); "Arab" (A Jew). 1936

(for a

.

Conway

Mencken Amer. Lang.

On

If you

a scratch sheet.

560, Jack credited with the invention of.

.

Arab

.

.

.

of the

(for Jew).

staff of Variety

1939 in 1944

.

.

is

ADD

NYC.

A people of mixed breed, partially Indian: see quots. ceNY 937 Gardner Folkl. Schoharie43 ceNY, "Arabs" is another class name applied in the town of Summit to shiftless people who, as it is often said, are at home wherever night overtakes them. 1963 Berry Almost White

6

1

83

arab

County [NY] there are several groups of supposedly the Honies, the Slaughters of Slaughter Hill, the Indian ancestry Clappers of Clapper Hollow, and the "Arabs" of Summit. 23, In Schoharie

—

arch

/

arbor-away n Also ~ down

A

children's game played with a stick: see quot. 1967 DARE (QR p 23 Inf C03, Arbor-away: [a game] like free base games. A stick was thrown and the "it" had to get it and get back to base before anyone else touched base. Same as arbor-down. )'

1

7 Among loggers: one who shirks work. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 3 Pacific N\V, Arab— A workman always managing to be away when there's dirty or heavy work to .

.

be done.

arab v

|'e,raeb|

To huckster. [Arab n B3] 1948 Mencken Amer. Lang. Suppl. 2 162 Baltimore MD, Arab, to go huckstering. 1951 A mSp 26.1 \ Baltimore MD, 'And what do you do for a living?' His Honor asks. 'I arabs,' replies the defendant. 1980 Capital Times (Madison WI) 9 Apr 53/4 Baltimore MD, I always arabbed, you were your own boss, you got to take it easy, you met all types of people. 1 1

Aug 9/1

(195

.

.

'We

are just "arabing,"

I

AmSp 26.72), Wallace said

had 'nothing concrete' to go said. He explained he meant

that the investigators (of a murder)

on

Wallace

'

See carbuncle

also Arbuckle's:

1

1

2 To search about. 1949 Sun (Baltimore MD)

1

arbuckle n 2 [Trade name of a popular

MD

Baltimore

arbuckle n

'canvassing around for clues.'

To take a horse-racing bet on the street. [From Arab n B4] 1952 Sun (Baltimore MD) 15 Dec B28/1 (1956 AmSp 31.31 1), 'Arab-

1944

Any

Adams Western

coffee, c 1900]

West

coffee.

Words, Arbuckle's

— The

brand of coffee so never knew there was any other kind. 1966 Good Old Days Feb 6 St. Louis MO, Remember the saucered coffee days? Nobody could endure their Arbuckles if it was hot. It had to be poured into a saucer. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West, Arbuckle ... A generic term for coffee.

common on

the range that most

cowmen

A greenhorn cowhand; tenderfoot. [See quot 1 94 1 ] 1933 AmSp 8. 1 .29 TX, Arbuckle, Tenderfoot. 1941 FWP Guide 459. Arbuckle applied to a cowboy, implying that the boss must have got him by mail order with Arbuckle premium stamps. 1944 Adams Western Words. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West. 2

WY

.

.

3

ing' is the

tions bets

word

on the

police use to describe present-day

of Baltimore

streets

.

.

.

The

bookmaking opera-

'arabing' bookie will take

— including the money — from a very few customers

at

one time,

because he writes nothing down and must remember the horses, the bettors and the amounts. 1955 Sun (Baltimore MD) 27 May B38/4 (Hench Coll.), The vice squad head described the bookmaking operation as "A-rabing bets." .

arabber n

|'e,r£eb3(r)|

.

Also araber, pronc-sp avraba

Baltimore

MD =Arab n B3.

\

Arabber.

arapajo n Also arapaho [Metath; perh by

Arapaho Indians]

false association

with

creeping evergreen plant (Epigaea repens) with hairy oval and clusters of usu pink flowers, native to much of the eastern half of the US. Also called crocus n 2c, gravel plant, gravelweed 5, groundhog's forehead, groundlaurel, groundsweet, mayflower, maypink 3, mountain pink 2, shadflower 1, terrapin's foot, winter pink 1822 Eaton Botany 271, Epigaea trailing arbutus. 1895 DS 1.398 cs.W, Ourbeauties. 1911 NJ State Museum AnnualRept. 6\9. Epigaea leaves

1

.

1965-70

Arbutus.

.

Gt Lakes,

DARE (Qu.

S26c) 45

Infs. chiefly

Atlan-

(Trailing) arbutus: (Qu. S2) 27 Infs. chiefly Atlantic,

Gt Lakes, (Trailing) arbutus; CT31, Trailing habutus: (Qu. S26e) CT12. IL50. MA14. 25. 58. MI31. PA49. Arbutus: CT2. MD18. MI76. 82, PA105, TN6, VT16, Trailing arbutus: MD20. ['ar.bjutiz]: WI78. Trailing arbeauties [or'bjutiz]: One arbeautv sg form: (Qu. S26a) Infs CT1 1. MA5. Mil 5. NJ4. Arbutus; PA60'. Trailing arbutus: (Qu. S26b) Infs MA6, MI34. PA74. WI64. Arbutus; GA70, MI9. NV1. Trailing arbutus: (Qu. S26d) Infs MI2, 17, NJ16. 58. Trailing arbutus: (Qu. S23 Inf CT6. Arbutus; MA74. Trailing arbutus: (Qu. S4) Inf MI26. also Infs

—

Trailing arbutus; (Qu. S2

1 )

Inf IL98, Trailing arbutus.

arce-up See ass-up

We

purchased twelve beautiful Peruvian mules, with necessary arapahoes, (Mexican pack saddles). 1903 White Forest 24. One hears strange, suggestive words and phrases arapajo. capote, and a dozen others coined into the tender of daily use. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West, Arapaho A corruption of aparejo. Somebody sometime must have confused the term with the Arapaho .

.

also

tic,

.

)

SW

=aparejo. 1854 Delano Life on Plains 334 CA,

—

ar-

A

repens

MD

1942 Footner Main 8. Every "avraba" (huckster) dreams of the day when he can purchase a diminutive wagon and a pony to pull it. 1948 Mencken Amer. Lang. Suppl. 2 162 Baltimore MD, Araber, a street huckster. 1951 AmSp 26.1 Baltimore MD, Our receptionist tells me that in her early youth in South Baltimore, hucksters were called arabbers as well as arabs. 1968 DARE (Qu. U6) Inf MD9, ['ejseb^].

the

arbutus n Also trailing arbutus Pronc-spp and folk-etyms beauties (-y), our beauties, habutus Cf madrone

.

—

arch n 1

A curved area in the basement foundation of a used for storage of vegetables: later transf to similar

also arch cellar:

fireplace,

outdoor structures. 1 786 ( 903) Patten Diary 528 NH, David began to build the wall of the Arch for our Chimney. 1845 Lowell Offering 5.256 neMA, We descend into her cellar Here is a nice arch for potatoes and all other freezeable commodities. 1967 DARE (Qu. Ml 9, A place for keeping carrots, turnips, potatoes, and so on over the winter) Inf PA29, Arch in 1

Indians.

.

arastra See arrastra

.

arbeauties, arbeauty See arbutus

arbor n Usu farbaH, occas harbor, harbour

|'harb3(r)|

ground, everything covered over.

Also sp arbour, pronc-spp

1

Forms.

Senses.

=brush arbor.

Sth Midi

J.

.

.

1

1

trees.

2 Transf: a revival meeting.

1915 ing."

A fireplace or furnace used for boiling down NEng Cf evaporator

sap.

chiefly

May

DS 4.224 wTX, Arbor

.

.

further place."

1

The fluid thus extracted, without effort is then put in barrels, and drawn to "the arch" or "firewhich is built of a few stones laid upon each other to hold the 286/2.

"pans" or "kettles." where it is boiled down to a sirup. 1874 VT State Bd. Ag. Report 2.728, Boiling arches should be of good depth, not filled up at back end. 1917 DA 4. 387 neOH, VT, Arch Furnace (of brick, stone, or the like) for boiling maple sap. 1923 Frost New Hampshire 102. Outside the sugar-house one night for choice. / 1 called the fireman with a careful voice / And bade him leave the pan and stoke the arch. 1947 PADS 8.4 \~T,Arch A long and narrow iron (sometimes brick) furnace. In the earlier days it was made of brick. 1966 DARE Tape MA5. Almost all of that old sugar that they boiled down in an arch [ac] was quite dark-colored There was one pan or pot on each arch and the sap was dipped from one to another or boiled in one till it was syrup: NH5. All he had was a big pan. two of 'em on brick arches. .

Thacher Jrnl. Amer. Revol. 244 (OED), We erected a large arbor, with the boughs of trees. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 68, Arbour ... A bower formed by trees, shrubs, or vines trained over a lattice work, so as to make a leafy roof, usually provided with seats; where meetings are held. cl937 in 970 Yetman Voices 75, Us niggers didn't have no secret meetin's. All us had was church meetin's in arbors out in de woods. 1938 ( 955) FWP Guide DE 508, The fire was protected by "harbors" of brush, made windproof and fireproof by a covering of pine "shats" and clay. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Arbor ... A frame ofpoles over an outdoor meeting place, covered with small boughs cut from 1823

2 also boiling arch:

maple

1867 Harper's Weekly 4

1917 in 1944 ADD sWV, Harbour. 1941 Ibid eWV, Grape harbor. 1966 DARE (QR p61) Inf SC4, Scuppernongs grow on ['ha-baz].

B

.

.

—

arb See herb

A

.

.

Used by metonymy

for "revival

meet-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

3 A curved iron or steel bar supporting the bricks over the opening of a fireplace and hooks to hold cooking utensils. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Arch ... A bar of iron or steel that holds up the stones or bricks above the opening of the fireplace.

Tape IN51. What we

called an arch,

you

built

1968

up over your

DARE

fireplace

archangel

area

/

84

inside. Made out of steel, about a half-moon circle. Had hooks on it. We took these old-fashioned pots and we hooked 'em up there and that's what my grandmother cooked her beans and boiled her ham and all that. .

.

4 =tournament pole.

WV

MD, VA,

MA)

25 March 17 nwMD, nwVA, neWV, Newcomers to this beautiful section of West Virgniaoften slow down and wonder when they notice in fields close to the highways, three high wooden arches in a row, sixty feet apart, with a stiff wire suspended from the center of each crossbar, and a narrow, well-worn path running beneath the arches Each wire holds a cord-wrapped ring Riders on galloping horses, armed with long metal-tipped spears thunder under the arches, picking offthe tiny rings. 1968 DARE Tape WV8, You take an' put up these three arches, then you put a ring on each arch, then they take three rides at those rings, then those lances should be nine then those rings are iron wrapped, crocheted. feet long,

1963 Chr.

Monitor (Boston

Sci.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

5 also

.

.

.

attrib:

In logging: a derrick-like device attached to a

and used

to hold up one end of a log that is being skidded. West, esp Pacific 1950 Western Folkl. 9.115 nwOR, Arch. A short, curved derrick mounted on a crawler trailer that is pulled by a cat equipped with drums. It is used in cat logging to skid the logs to the landing. 1956 AmSp 31.149 nwCA, Arch ... A piece of equipment used to hold up one end of the logs being logged by a tractor. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Arch A trailer to be pulled behind a tractor Arch cat A tractor used to yard logs with an arch. Arch hook A two-or three-hole hook permitting several chokers to be attached on one line. Arch line A wire rope which is run over the arch and to which the chokers from the logs are attached. 1968 Adams Western Words, Arch In logging, a piece of equipment used to hold up one end of the logs. A sled, often the fork of a tree, used in skidding logs.

tractor

NW

—

—

.

.

—

6 In mining: the curved area left between the top and side of a mine when an automatic coal-mining machine is used.

PADS 59.25

sIL.

archangel n =angelica la (here: Angelica atropurpurea). 1873 in 1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 127, Angelica atropurpurea Archangel. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 35. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. 1

.

.

Plants 46.

A

water horehound (esp Lycopus virginicus). 1874 Shaker Med. Preparations, Archangel Lycopus Sinuatus. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 233, LfycopusJ Virginicus Green Archangel. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 17, Lycopus virginicus Other common names green archangel purple archangel. 2

.

.

.

.

.

.

3 =dead nettle

.

.

.

.

.

1.

1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 448, Lamium purpureum, sweet archangel. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 158, Lamium amplexicaule white archangel. 1982 Wayside Gardens 78, Lamium Galeobdolon 'Variegatum' Known as Yellow Archangel or Silver Nettle Vine. .

.

4 =butterfly weed 1894

Jrl.

Amer.

1

.

Folkl. 7.94, Asclepias tuberosa,

.

.

.

[FW: orchard

grass.

n

arctic

chiefly

1

also

,

grass

Archangel, (near)

Providence, R.I.

arch kettle n [arch

A

1

3]

1939 LANE Map 131 (kettle; pot) 2 Infs, neNH, cwME, Arch kettle. 965 Needham - Mussey Country Things 1 30 seVT (as of c 1850), Places like the old Liberty Pole Tavern had to heat a lot of water, so there would be an arch kettle built right in on one side of the fireplace. The arch was generally fired from inside the house, and you had a door that opened out into the shed; you could reach out and bail hot water from outside the partition. The kettle would hold maybe forty gallons. 1

.

nose.

1967-68

DARE

(Qu. XI 5, Different kinds of noses, according to shape) Infs KS5, PA70, Arch nose. .

arch one's back v phr West Literally of a horse: to start to buck. Also

.

.

fig,

of humans: to show

—

1944 Adams Western Words, Arches his back Said of an angry 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 295 West, When a hoss started to buck there were a lot of slang .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

W

Infs questioned, 75) Inf DC4, Arctics;

OK47, Four-buckle arctics; OK

The hoss "arches

8,

1

Four-buckle artics [ardiks]; OK 18 A, "Artic" is a catalogue name, not used much. 1967 DARE Addit nwMI, Arctics ['artiks] meaning overshoes or galoshes that's the term. I don't think I heard "overshoes" or "galoshes" once.

FW

—

n2

arctic

A

playing marble: ? =arnick.

1969

DARE Tape

MI103, Set-ups [included]

arctics, agates, snotties,

steelies.

Arctic owl n chiefly NEast,

=snowy owl

Gt Lakes

1.

MA

1839 Zool. & Bot. Surv. Fishes Reptiles 276, The Arctic, or White-horned Owl, Strix arctica, is a rare and beautiful bird. 1951 Graham My Window 45 ME, I swung round and I seen this big white thing swoopin' down on the lower field. It wuz an ar'tic owl. 1955 U.S. Arctic Info. Center Gloss., Arctic owl. A common misnomer for the snowy owl. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Q2, Other kinds of owls) 12 Infs, chieily NEast, Gt Lakes, Arctic owl; Infs ME6, 8, NY227, ['artik] owl; MA78, Snowy arctic owls; MA30, White arctic owls; (Qu. Q10) Inf

WI78, Arctic

owl.

Arctic trout n

AK

A fish of the trout family, such as the grayling or the coho salmon, but in Alaska often the Dolly Varden trout. 1935 Alaska Sportsman Jan 8 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), One of my earliest fishing trips was ... to establish connections with a huge fish

known

locally as "Arctic Trout."

was landed,

Ibid 9,

When the first

"Arctic Trout"

was revealed to be but a brilliant colored subspecies of the familiar Dolly Varden. 1946 Alaska Sportsman May 36 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), Dolly Vardens really get around. Way back some of them wandered up into the rivers of the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean, where they stayed and developed into huge, beautiful fish glorified by the name of Arctic trout. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 107, Oncorhynchus kisutch Names: Coho Salmon, Arctic Trout. 1955 U.S. Arctic Info. Center Gloss. 6, Arctic trout. A general term for any trout or grayling found in the Arctic. 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 354, Arctic Char Common Names: Arctic trout. .

.

it

.

.

arctic

.

.

FWP

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

AK

wine n

1939

.

Guide AK xxxii, Patrons of bars sometimes attempt to Alaskan for by demanding a drink of "ar'tic wine"

—

violate the law

straight whiskey.

are adv

1

See there

are adv 2 See here

A

|'aeri(j)3,

'er-,

'er|,

rarely I'eara, 'xn(zt-)\

Pronc-spp

Cf airy-way

aree

Forms.

1848 Lowell Biglow 6 "Upcountry" MA, They may talk o' Freedom's airy / Tell they're pupple in the face. Ibid 143 [Glossary], Airy, A corruption of Aree, area. 1890 Farmer- Henley Slang, Airy 'area,' e.g., 'Down the airy steps.' 1920s in 1944 ADD cNY, Area 1965-68 DARE Tape 1942 Ibid seIN, Area ['aria]. Radio. ['eria]. FL43, Area ['aeri]; GA77, Area ['ears]; MD1, The children in our is Infs only pro1968 DARE FW Addit LA 14, Area ['eria] ['seri^]. nunciation it seems to compete with ['eria] in this area; MA40, Area .

person, of a horse preparing to buck.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ar'tic

1

.

anger.

expressions the cowhand used over," "wrinkles his spine."

artic,

four buckles; a galosh. 1867 Territorial Enterprise (Virginia, Nev.) Mar 1/1 (DA), The 'arctic' boots are taking the place of rubber overshoes and are more serviceable. 1878 Atlantic Mth. 4 1 .327/2 ME, He shook the snow of his native city from his arctics, and went forth into the world. 1890 Harper's Mag. 8 1 .69 NYC, To see Mr. Fox pacing the platform with mittens and arctic overshoes. 1909 DN 3.292 nwAR, Ar'tics Overshoes that fasten with one or more buckles. 1911 DN 3.541 NE. 1937 FWP Guide MA 267, In 1800 the State Legislature passed an act to encourage the manufacture of shoes, boots, and 'arctics' (galoshes). 1950 WELS (Kinds of rubber footwear) 10 Infs, throughout WI, Ar(c)tics. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN. 1965-66 DARE(Qu. 13; total

airy, .

grass."]

Pronc-spp

'artik|

A warm waterproof overshoe, freq fur-lined and usu fastened by

area n Usu

arch nose n

A hooked

.

Nth

.

kettle built into a fireplace for heating water.

.

.

pronounced "archy

attrib I'arktik,

.

arch cellar See arch

.

is

.

—

—

1973

tarchy grass n Var of orchard grass 1970 DARE (Qu. L9a, Grass grown for hay) Inf KY93, Archy

his back," "boils

.

.

.

.

['erija].

.

;

.

.

.

.

.

.

a'ready

85

B

Sense.

I, kin a feller go spang up the round of 1933 Sun (Baltimore MD) 4 July 6/3 (Hench Coll.), Jim talks a great deal and does much glad-handing; but as was said of the colored preacher, the job seekers still complain that he "argifies and

areally See a inert vowel 2

argifies

MA VA, We must, both on us, argufy him

arg v [Cf SND arg to talk ill-temperedly and hot-headedly] argue.

DN

Argue

.

.

[org].

.

Jarg n [arg

A

Back-formations from words with initial acTo argue, grumble. 1941 in 1944 ADDaWV, "Don't arg!" By one speaker.

4.141,

Arg, from argue.

.

.

1945 Langley Lion in Streets 55 LA, never knowed he was so good as to argufy a judge into somethin' so diffrunt as a trial liken t' that. 1 966 Manchester Union Leader (NH) 28 July 10/4, Futile as argufying may be, I cannot refrain from illustrating by example how these people think, the sort of junk they sell.

argufyingest adj cl960 Wilson

DARE(Qu. HH12)

Inf PA1 14,

An arg

[org]

— short

for arguing.

arger See argue

GA

1884 Lanier Poems 175

argimint See argument Sth,

I'argju, -ja|; also chiefly

Pronc-spp arger, argy See also arg

Midi

augur v

v,

|'arg(j)i,

'argaH

1

NC

1899 Chesnutt Conjure Woman 155 [Black], Her marster laffit at 1921 Thorp Songs Cowboys 171 AZ, A her en argyed wid her. stranger 5.200 swMO, Argy. 1936 stopped to arger some. 1923 AmSp 1 1.163 eTX, Argue ['orgja]. 1941 AmSp 16.9 eTX [Black], ['a:gji]. 1949 VT Hist, ns 27.124, ['arg»] Occasional. Rural areas. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Argue is often ['argi].

DN

.

.

.

in 1941

.

—

.

.

[title:],

1894

.

Forms.

.

Jones's Private Argyment.

1891 Warfel-Orians Local-Color StorieslAl sAR, A new set o' argimints. 1901 ZW2.181 neKY [Black], Argument argyment, yargyment. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 287 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Aa'gyment argument, arguments. 1936 AmSp 1 1 1 59 eTX, In another group, the medial u is pronounced both [ja] and [a] accumulate, argument. 1955 Adams Grandfather 40 NY, I don't have no argyment. .

.

to get along

|'a(r)gjum3nt, 'a(r)gj3m3nt|, occas I'argamantl

DN 1.1 18 cNY, ['argamant].

argerfy, argify See argufy

A

— a hard one

with.

Pronc-spp aa gyment, argimint, argyment, yargyment Std senses, var forms.

argefy See argufy

argue v Usu

contentious. csKY, Argufyingest person

Coll.

argument n Usu

argadent See aguardiente

1

I

Of persons: most

v]

fault-finder.

1968

but don't pint out and say whar'in."

persuade by argument.

1853 Simms Sword & Distaff into the sense of this needcessity.

arfter See after

.

To

4

aree See area

cent

argefied the pint agin this way; sez

I

a'ready See already

1914

arivipa

a big punkin?

See airy-way.

To

/

.

B Sense. To annoy, verbally abuse (someone). Cf augur v 2 1968 - 70 DARE (Qu. Y7) Inf VA73, She keeps |'argam| me all the time;

.

.

.

argyment See argue,

argy, argyfy,

argufy, argument

arichtocrat n, also aphet richtocrat; hence also adj arichtocratic

Cf rusticrat

An

aristocrat.

1942 Hench

Coll. cVA, In a class discussion of popular etymologies, a student said that he had heard Negroes use arichtocrat instead of

1

WI13, He keeps

|'argaMn|

argufier n [argufy

me.

convincing or argumentative speaker. 1805 Fessenden Democracy Unveiled 203, His honour might have pass'd For quite a decent country Squire, / And no bad Jury -argu1966 DARE (Qu. II36A, Somebody who talks back or gives rude fier. ?") answers: "Did you ever see such a Inf MA6, [argafaija] [my] father's term. .

.

.

argufy

.

v, also

vbl

n argufying Pronc-spp aa 'gyfy,

argify, arguefy, argyfy

ate formation

on

speakers with

little

[argue +

argue.'"]

-ify;

1789 (1918)

Low

To

Sth,

1

75

argefy, argerfy, 1

— "An

S Midi

esp

illiter-

among

366

.

.

.

.

.

is

.

.

.

1972 Carr Da of the simple and basic [Japanese] expressions arigato 'thank you.'

a surprising tonic for which one can only say arigato.

Many

Kine Talk 92 HI, are

still

in use

.

.

:

aristocratic adj rural, old-fash

1846 Cooper Redskins 1.159, Ravensnest argufies

your

Folk-Speech,

cratic residence." This

word

"aristocratic,"

I

.

.

[was]

termed an

find since

"aristo-

my return home,

has got to be a term of expansive signification, its meaning depending on and opinions of the person who happens to use it. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 12, Aristocratic. Strangely misapplied in those parts of the country where the population is not dense. The city, in the surrounding country towns, is deemed "aristocratic." The people in the villages consider the inhabitants of the towns "aristocratic," and so on. The term is very common in small country the particular habits

argue; signify.

2 To contend, wrangle. 1812 Paulding Diverting Hist. 123 NY, They stopt in the fields from their work to arguefy. 1848 Bartlett Americanisms, To argufy ... To

word has a place in several of the English glossaries. In country it is only heard among the most illiterate. 1867 Lowell Biglow 15 "Upcountry" MA, It ain't no use to argerfy. 1905 3.2 cCT. 1908 4.294 sAppalachians, 3.287 eAL, wGA. 1916 Right//;', argy/y. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 287 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Aa'gyfy. 1930 AmSp 5.424 Ozarks, The Ozarker very often says argufy instead of argue, and the "furrin" schoolmarms laugh at him for it. 1942 Whipple Joshua 363 UT, But the argufying was what she liked best. David and Mr. Nelson argufying on every subject under the sun. 1950 PADS 14.12 SC, Argufy, arfigy [sic]. To argue, with a connotation of aimlessness. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Argufy. To argue, usually offensively. "He likes to argufy too much." 1967 DARE (Qu. 3) Inf MI44, Argufying ['argju,fanrj]. That's more just idle talk. argue. This vile this

DN

DN

DN

.

KK

1947 AmSp 22.54 [Pacific War Language], Arigato. Thank you. 1954-60 Hance Hawaiian Sugar 1, Arigato [a'ri'gato] Thank you. 1967 DARE (Qu. 1139, Ways of saying 'thank you) Inf HI6, Arigato [ari'gato]. 1970 Time 3 Aug 69 NYC, The show's many dance numbers are mesmeric revels In midsummer New York, Golden Bat

Stylish; culturally superior. signify.

NYC, What 1899 (1912) Green VA

Politician Outwitted

or your magnifies?

signifies,

Argufy ...

OED

now chiefly

educ To be evidence of (something); to

1

HI

[Japanese]

intj

richtocrat,

Ibid 146 .4, Arichtocratic.

Thank you.

A

.

a wealthy aristocrat.

arigato

2, 4]

1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang450. 2, A

aristocrat.

.

1

To dispute or debate (a point or topic). 1812 Niles' Natl. Reg. 3.206/1 MD, But general Armstrong is well prepared to "argufy" this point. 1817 N. Amer. Rev. 4.183 NY, After dinner [we] smoked a dirty pipe, 'argufied the topick,' whether the crops were likely to be spoilt. 1843 ( 9 6) Hall New Purchase 1 34 IN, And so 3

1

1

.

.

newspapers and in political speeches in out of the way places. 1892 Twain Amer. Claimant 53, Rowena-Ivanhoe College is the selectest and most aristocratic seat of learning for young ladies in our country. 1905 3.2 cCT, Aristocratic Following the city style of living.

DN

.

.

.

ariv See arrive

arivipa n [Prob Arivaipa the San Carlos Indian people]

Seequot 1969. 1969 O'Connor Horse & Buggy West 167 AZ (as of early 1900s), In a dryarroyo he could have struck cool plentiful water by digging down a few feet. These places where the water runs close to the surface beneath the sands are known as arivipas. [1979 Nature Conserv. News 29.6. 16 lies another "canyon - oasis" AZ, To the north of Ramsey Canyon Aravaipa. Also a permanent stream, Aravaipa Creek cuts through the dry desert slopes of paloverde ... Its waters originate from distant pine-forested mountains, retreat underground, and resurface within the .

.

.

canyon.]

.

—

Aa Arizona cloudburst

/

Arkansas traveler

86

Arizona cloudburst n joe Cf Idaho brainstorm, Mormon rainstorm 1966 Western Folkl. 25.37 OR, Arizona cloudburst. A sandstorm. Arizona nightingale n chiefly A donkey or mule.

SW

Any

4 1

old,

clumsy boat, joe

DARE (Qu. 02)

965 - 70

1

2 Infs, chiefly east of Missip R, Ark;

1940 (1966) FWP Guide AZ 51 Because of his extraordinary bray, [the is sometimes called the "Arizona Nightingale." 1965 Western Folkl. 24. 197. 1968 Adams Western Words 8, Arizona nightingale 1969 DARE (Qu. K50, Joking nicknames for prospector's burro. mules) Inf AZ15, Arizona nightingale. ,

burro]

—

2,

6:14-16):Seequots. Cfarky 1899 ( 9 2) Green VA Folk-Speech 68, Arky archaic. "Came out of the ark." 1949 PADS 11.14 wTX, As old as Noah's ark. 1951 PADS 15.58 sIN, Noah had that one in the ark: saying, of a time-worn joke. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. FF2 a, A joke that is so old it doesn't seem funny any more) Inf FL28, Out of the ark; GA66, Came in with the ark; GA86, Old enough to have come out of the ark; (Qu. FF2 b) Inf HI Was when Noah came out of the ark; MI28, It come over on the ark; NY66, That was told in the ark; PA215, Was on Noah's ark. cl970 Halpert Coll. wKY, It's so old it came out of Noah's ark (on crutches). 1

1

.

.

1

1

Arizona paint job n joe

No

paint at all. 1962 Western Folkl. 21.29 sCA, Arizona paint job an unpainted, weathered pine building.

.

1

5 In humorous phrr alluding to the era of Noah's ark (Gen

joe

Arizona peacock n =roadrunner. 1956 AmSp 31.181 CA, Arizona peacock

NC

NY41,01dark.

.

— used

to describe

Arkansas n Usu I'orkan.sol; infreq sp-pronc sp Arkansaw (see arkansaw)

Roadrunner.

Arizona ruby n A pyrope garnet found in igneous rocks of the Southwest. Also called Navajo ruby 1893 U.S. Census Office Moqui Pueblo Indians 16 AZ, The Moqui

,

|ar'kaen,S3s|

Pronc-

Std sense (the state name), var forms. 1940 in 1944 ADD swPA, nWV, [ar'kaensas] Old illit speaker. 1941 AmSp 16.15 eTX [Black], ['a:kjTn,so:]. 1941 in 1944 ADD, ['arkm,so]. 1968 DARE (Qu. N37) Inf MO10, Slow train through ['arken,SD]; (Qu.

HH1)

Inf

M09,

['arkm,SD] hoosier.

Arkansas asphalt n joe 1966 Western Folkl. 25.37 TX, Arkansas asphalt. Logs laid side by side form a "corduroy" road Texas oilmen found conditions in Ar-

Indians have quantities of garnets, Arizona rubies, and pieces of tur-

to

quoise.

1

.

.

.

kansas particularly primitive.

Arizona strawberry See strawberry

Arkansas banana See banana Bl

SW

Arizona tenor n [Seequot 1977] joe A coughing tubercular. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang42>\.2, Consumptive

Arkansas chicken n joe Cf DS H38, Arkansas T-bone, Georgia chicken Person.

Arizona tenor. 1 944 Adams Western Words. 1945 Everybody 's Digest Aug 87 (DA), Among his own kind, the waddy calls a coughing tubercular an 'Arizona tenor.' 1977 Watts Diet. Old West, Arizona tenor man suffering from tuberculosis. The dry desert air was considered beneficial for such sufferers.

—

=salt pork. 1905 DN 3.69 nwAR, Arkansas chicken Salt pork; 'We've got plenty of Arkansas chicken.' Rare. .

NYC, A

A

tions

ark

.

.

fire

1962 Western

n, also attrib

B47) Inf TX62, Arkansas dew.

extinguisher n joe Folkl. 21.29 sCA, Arkansas

fire

extinguisher

Arkansas

A

.

.

yards and observed the coal arks They are linked together in descending the river by two single planks. 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 337, These arks, as they are familiarly called, are now-a-days but rarely seen on the Mississippi, the steamboat having almost entirely superseded them. 1939 (1954) Guide 111, In November [1815] they started on their 400 mile journey in a flatbottomed boat .

.

lizard n joe

1933 AmSp 8.3.24 KS [Prison dictionary], Arkansas lizard. Louse. Some army and 1960 Wentworth-Flexner Slang, Arkansas lizard hobo use; archaic.

Arkansas special See Arkansas

AT

known in that day as an "ark" or a "Kentucky broadhorn." 1947 Sun (Baltimore MD) 30 Oct 16/1 cPA, The white settlers used "arks" and "keelboats" to bring flour, timber and other commodities to the markets in Philadelphia and Baltimore. (Funk) 114/1, Ark .. [Eastern U.S.] A a house in which a business is done, as in

Std. Diet. Engl. Lang.

.

oysters, etc.

3 In logging: a houseboat used as bunkhouse, kitchen, or storage area, esp in floating camps. Nth Also called shanty boat, van,

wanigan 1905 U.S. Forest Serv. Bulletin 61.52, Wanigan ...

A houseboat used

and dining room by river drivers Syn.: ark. 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words cPA Mts (as of A house built on a raft, the floating boarding house of the c 900), Ark crew of a log drive. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 3 Pacific NW, Ark A bunkhouse, particularly one on a raft in a floating camp. 1969 1. Where the camp Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Ark stores are kept. 2. The boat or raft that followed the logs down the river on a drive. .

.

or

as

kitchen

.

—

1

—

traveler

Arkansas T-bone n joe Cf Arkansas chicken Bacon. 1967

DARE (Qu.

H38) Inf NE7, Arkansas T-bone.

Arkansas toothpick n joe

A

large bowie knife, or similar knife with a long blade. 1837 (1955) Crockett Almanacks 112 TN, [Woodcut caption:] An Arkansas Toothpick. 1882 Nation 7 Dec 485, Things supposed to be required by 'honor' will coarsen as they descend among the vulduel will develop into a street or bar-room fight, with gar the "Arkansas toothpicks" as the weapons. 1944 Adams Western Words, A large sheath knife; a dagger. 1962 Western Arkansas toothpick any knife with a blade exceedFolkl. 21.29 sCA, Arkansas toothpick ing the legal limit Los Angeles, 1950. 1978 Natl. Geog. Mag. Mar 420 AR, At his home in Russellville, Jimmy Lile makes knives: droppedpoint hunters and skinners, Arkansas toothpicks, Bowies. .

.

.

—

.

quarters

.

Arkansas strawberry See strawberry

.

2 See quot.

moored scow covered by

.

.

FWP

sleeping

— a cham-

louse.

.

80 foot long and 30 wide, landed this day from Fort William Henry. 1808 U.S. Congress Debates & Proc. 10th Cong 2d Sess 52 DE, Our dismantled, ark-roofed vessels are indeed decaying in safety at our wharves. 1821(1 927) Rodman Diary [5] MA, Visited the Lehigh coal

as

meat.'

berpot.

1 A large, flat-bottomed boat, usu used to transport goods to market along the Mississippi, Ohio, and other eastern rivers. now hist Also called broadhorn, flat boat n 1 1759 New Amer. Mag. 2.627, Our great boat called the ark, being near

1895

'salt side

rain.

DARE (Qu.

Arkansas

Floridy, Arizony, asafoetidy.

.

sudden heavy

1969

few more past-age pronuncia-

.

^Arkansas dew n joe

Arizony n Pronc-sp for Arizona Cf-y 1931 N. Amer. Rev. 231.432/1

.

—

.

—

.

Arkansas traveler n 1

also

Arkansas

special:

An

unimportant branch

railroad,

joe

C(DS N37 1950 WELS

(Joking names for a branch railroad that is not very important or does not give the best of service) 1 Inf, cwWI, Arkansas special. 1969 DARE (Qu. N37) Inf OH89, Arkansas traveler.

2 A fast-growing plant, perh kudzu. 1966 DARE Tape AL1, [FW:] A type of ivy that trees. [Inf:]

and

My mama

foot-a-night.

always called

it

.

.

foot-a-night.

might cover all the Arkansas traveler

Arkansas travels

87

NV

Geog. CA & 194, Migratory worker urban, 2 rural, and 2 Nevada.

Arkansas travels n joe Diarrhea. 1965 DARE (Qu. BB19) Inf OKI

Arkansas

1,

travels.

Arkansas water n joe

A

picnic drink: see quot.

1951

AmSp 26.1 A sIL, Arkansas water. A term of contempt for a drink

The picknicker was evidently classing the beverage served at a picnic with pink lemonade or with other ersatz concoctions. His usage perpetuates the old connotation of Arkansas with the crude and the humorous. .

.

—

arkansaw v Pronc-sp

To

kill in

Arkansas Ozarks an unsportsman-like manner; by

Arkansas wedding

DN

ext: to cheat, take

5.472 a hunter shoots a sitting rabbit 1927 with a shotgun at close range the rabbit is said to be arkansawed. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 224 Ozarks, When a hunter shoots a quail on the ground, the bird is said to be arkansawed My neighbor told me that a banker was trying to arkansaw him out of his farm. .

.

.

2 To sweep with a brush broom n or a bunch of green branches. 1936 AmSp 11.314 Ozarks, Jest wait till I Arkansaw th' kitchen, afore ye set down. 1

To exhaust, wear down. [Cf DA Arkansas stone, whetstone] 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 224 Ozarks, No wonder Billy looks young. He never done no hard work to arkansaw himself down. 3

arkansaw adv Cf£>SII8, 9 =Dutch adv. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 224 Ozarks, Postmaster McQuary, of Galena, Mo., ate lunch with me in a little restaurant, I reached for the check. "No," said he positively, "we'll go arkansaw,'" meaning that each man pays for his own food.

Arkansawyan

adj [Blend of

Arkansawyer and Arkansan]

Arkansan.

DN 3. 124 nwAR, Arkansawyan Rare. Arkansawyer n chiefly AR and adjacent states 1906

.

.

DN 2.416 nwAR, Arkansawyer ... .

.

because the word suggests Kansan. Kansas and the Kansans are very unpopular in Arkansas. 1918 DNS 31 OK, Arkansawyer Aderisive term applied to the people of Arkansas by Oklahomans. 1947 AmSp 22.255 AR, The semiaffectionate, semi-teasing Arkansawyer, derived from Arkansas, the local pronunciation of the state name, is still in use, especially on the lower levels, and there is a daily in the town of Stuttgart called the Leader and Arkansawyer. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 224 Ozarks, John Gould Fletcher, a native of Little Rock and a distinguished literary figure, spells the name Arkansawyer. .

adj [Cf

DA

ark v] See also ark

1,

.

.

3

Of

lumber: having been floated downriver, the planks being fastened together in boat-shaped groups. 1941 Sun (Baltimore MD) 25 Aug 4/3 (Hench Coll.), The great logs of which the tavern was built "arked" lumber it was called in the old days, because of the custom of fastening the great planks together by driving wooden pegs through them so they could be floated down the .

.

river to their point of destination

.

.

"arked" as

in the

days of Noah of

old.

Arkie n Alsosp^rA:y 1

.

arky adj Cfark 5 Old-fashioned, quite out of style. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Arky archaic. "Came out of the ark." "She had on a very arky bonnet." 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 1.12. arly, arliest

See early

armas n

[Span arma weapon]

pi

SW

.

.

Cfarmitas

Leather flaps attached to a saddle to protect the rider's legs. 1936 McCarthy Lang. Mosshorn, [Caption:] Armas, cowhide hanging from saddle. 1955 Harris Look ofOld West 208, The cowboy variety [of leather breeches] really started, down in Mexico away back when, with a sort of skirt or apron. These were big flaps of tough leather called armas that fastened over the front of the saddle and hung down on each side. When you climbed aboard you tucked them over your legs like a robe. And when you got down they stayed on the saddle. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West, Armas ... A forerunner of chaps which were little more than two large flaps of hide fastened to the saddle and protecting a rider's legs against brush and thorns.

arm baby n esp

NC

See also apron child, teeniney

A baby small enough to be held in the arms; by ext, the youngest and smallest

child in a family.

Guide NC 98, The boy, or "chap" may be called a little "shirttailed boy" to distinguish him from her "arm babv and her knee baby." 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.516 c,eNC. 1972 Cooper NC Mt. Folkl. 89, Arm baby child small enough to be carried in the arms. 1939

FWP

—

armchair back See chairback

armed up

adj

phr [Cf

OED arm

v 2 2]

get married.

armful n Also sp armful l formerly chiefly Nth; now widespread, but esp common in Nth See Map Addit map in 1949 Kurath Word Geog. Fig. 73 See also armload, arm of wood, turn

'I

.

arked

.

.

1935 Atlantic Mth. 156.303 AL, [We] walked along armed up goin' to

Cf Arkansaw-

is general among the uneduknew it was dangerous to hurt an Arkansawyer's dog.' 1906 DN 3.124 nwAR, Arkansawyer occurs even among the educated. The adjective and the noun Arkansan are in disrepute among the uneducated

1904

A^

.

Arm-in-arm.

Arkansan.

cated.

was

1

.

yan

An

Of 5 Arkie responses,

2 A rustic person or one considered insignificant, derog 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 391.3, Arky. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. HH1) Infs CA61, 83, 94, TX72, Arkie: (Qu. HH18) Inf CA169, Arkies. 1971 Bright Word Geog. CA & 194, A rustic derogatory and neutral terms Arkie.

for

Cf ozark nwAR, swMO, When

of.

.

.

NW,

1958 McCulloch Woods Words 3 Pacific Corn bread. cake

1

.

armful

.

Arkansas wedding cake n joe

advantage

.

/

chiefly

West, esp Pacific

CfOkie

A native of Arkansas or neighboring states, esp a migrant from

Arkansas, often derog 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 3

Pacific NW, Arkie— Native of green to the West Coast Woods. Generally a traveler, less skilled than native loggers, but not always so. 1959 AmSp 34.76, Arkie ... A worker from Arkansas. Also, a term of disparagement. 1968 Fulbright Cow-Country Counselor 1 18, Another time six people from Arkansas, called Arkies, as all natives of Arkansas were called, lived in a small two-room wooden cabin. 1971 Bright Word

Arkansas or neighboring

states,

the amount a person can carry at one time. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Armfull ... As much as can be carried with the two hands together. A large woman is called an armfull. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 57, Armful is the regular expression in the North. In the North Midland armful is now more common than the old Midland arm load and load, but in the South Midland it is less common. 1950 H ELS ("Go bring in of wood. ") 45 Infs. throughout WI, An armful. 1962 AmSp 37.173 eNC, An armful (of wood) [is] a Northern and North Midland usage which does not occur in North Carolina except sporadically in the west [Yet] Ocracokers seem to prefer armful. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. L56) 522 Infs, throughout US but esp common in Nth, Armful; NC8. SC3, Double armful: NC54, Piece of a armful; IL31, Whole armful, NY69, Couple of armfuls. 1967 Le-

Usu of firewood:

.

.

.

1

arminette

/

armstrong

Compte Word Atlas time

in both

LAUM 1.21 Northern

1,

arms

.

88

157 seLA, Amount of wood you can carry at one armful 42.9% armload 9.5%. 1973 Allen .

.

.

Although armful prevails

.

in all five states,

it is

distinctly

in its orientation.

arminette n [Fr arme weapon]

eLA

.

pi,

rarely sg [armas

+

-ita

[arm^]

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

=foot adz. 1956 Knipmeyer Settlement Succession 1 55 eLA, The arminette is the The inside [of the regular long-handled adze with a straight blade pirogue] is hewn out with a hatchet or arminette about two inches inside the lines which mark the outline of the dugout.

armitas n

1916 DN 4.268 New Orleans LA, NC, Armoir Wardrobe. 1923 DN 5.243 LA, Armour ... An armoire, or wardrobe. 1931 Read LA French 2, Armoire Wardrobe for wearing apparel. Those who do not speak French pronounce the word like English armor. 1958 Grau Hard Blue Sky 1 3 LA, She'd put whole flowering strands [ofjasmine vine] in the armoire with her clothes. 1 96 PADS 36.13 LA, The universal anglicizing of armoire is ['a(r)m3(r)]. floor to the ceiling.

.

dimin

.

SW

suff]

Also

DARE (Qu. El,

1965-70

you hang clothes 'armor]; (Qu. E3,

Armoire

catalogues.

A

Priced

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

24

it)

Furniture that stands against the wall, and Infs, chiefly

LA, MS, Armoire

['arm3(r),

Furniture in which you lay clothes flat) Inf LA33,

1967

['arms].

DARE FW Addit swAR, Armoire ['a:m,war] —

—

rich; neCO, Armoire used esp in antique State Jrl. (Madison) 7 Mar 5.5/3, [Advt:] Sale Includes: 2 armoires, 2 mirrors, and island bed.

among] the

closet; [usage

called chigaderos

kind of primitive leather chaps. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 915.20 West, Armila ... a leather riding apron tied around the waist and knees, sometimes used in

in

.

.

WI

1982

.

.

summer instead of chaparajos. 1946 Mora Trail Dust 90 SW, Chinks, or Armitas, are a kind of skeleton chap, and were worn quite a bit on some coast ranges and in Nevada. They are generally made of buckskin, the sides and bottoms often fringed. 1955 Harris Look ofOld West 209, The armitas were leather aprons, two of them, hanging from a belt around your middle and coming down to your boot tops, and provided with thongs along the sides so you could tie them around your the

legs.

1977 Watts

Diet.

Old West.

armload n widespread, but least freq in Nth See Map Addit maps in 1949 Kurath Word Geog. Fig 73, 1973 Allen LAUM 1.211 Fig 16.5a

=armful. 1906 Casey Parson's Boy 22 (AmSp 58.249) sIL (as of c 1860), Bring mother an armload of stove-wood. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 29, Arm load and load are distinctive Midland expressions for an armful of wood. Arm load predominates in the North Midland, load in the South Midland. The term armful stands by the side of arm load in the North Midland and has nearly eliminated it in the Great Valley of Pennsylvania and in the Pittsburgh area; on Delaware Bay, however, arm load is well established. 1950 WELS ("Go bring in of wood") 5 Infs, s,cWI, An armload. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. L56) 304 Infs, widespread, but least freq in Nth, Armload; OH90, Armload full; VA24, Armload of wood. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.211, Armload, which appears once in Minnesota and once in Manitoba but not at all in North Dakota, is clearly linked to the Midland distribution pattern.

armored pine n =shortleaf pine 1951

PADS

scales of

its

1.

15.7,

Pinus echinata

.

.

Armored

.

pine,

from the plate-like

bark, Traumfest, N.C.

^armory n [Prob folk-etym, but cf

OED

ambry

fr

Fr armarie,

aumoire] =armoire. 1968

DARE

(Qu. E3,

WI47, Armory

— two

.

.

Furniture in which you lay clothes flat) Inf doors with drawers behind.

little

armour See armoire

arm

pull n, also attrib

Also

arm pulling

AK

An Eskimo game

of strength, in which two seated players interlock their arms and each attempts to pull the other over. 1973 Theata (Fairbanks AK) Spring .9, The old games, such as arm pulling have been passed down to the people of today and are still kept ... An arm pulling contest has to do with pulling the opponent's arm to the side where his opponent is sitting. It is almost like tug-of-war, but the player isn't standing up pulling a rope. He is sitting on the floor and only pulling with his arm in order to win the game. 1977 Tundra Times (Fairbanks AK) 3 Aug6/'1 Arm Pull Contest First Place: Pat Tingmiak, N. W.T. Ibid 7 [Caption], Freddie Titus, his face showing the strain of competition, in the arm pull event. 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

armstrong

used absol [Cf Captain Armstrong dishonest " i.e., 'to pull with strong arm' (Farmer -Henley Slang)] joe See also Armstrong heater Operated by hand rather than by mechanical means used as if

arm

of

upon words,

a trademark for machines

1950 WELS ("Go bring in arm. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. L56)

mour

play

—

wood n

=armful.

armoire n

adj, also

"A

jockey,

sw, cWI, An 14, LA7, Arm of wood.

of wood. Infs

GA5,

")

2

Infs,

Pronc-spp armor, arSee Map now more widespread See also armory

|'a(r)m3(r), 'armor, 'a(r)mwar|

[Fr]

chiefly

LA,

MS

through commercialization

A large,

often ornate, wardrobe or clothespress 1. was of the 1834 Brackenridge Recollections 24 LA, The furniture most common kind, consisting of an armoire, a rough table or two, and some coarse chairs. 1855 Thorpe Master's House 118 Sth, The armoire, of massive proportions, is always composed of the richest of materials, and is very often inlaid with costly and different tinted woods, the panels are composed of costly mirrors that reach almost from the .

.

and

tools.

1914 DN4. 102 KS, Armstrong Operated by the arm as opposed to machinery; used jocosely of scythes, sickles or saws, etc. 1923 5.200 swMO, Armstrong ... A grain cradle. Applicable also to any primitive form of tool used by hand. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 365 sAppalachian Mts, In some places to-day we still find the ancient quern or hand-mill, jocularly called an armstrong-machine. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 33 1 Armstrong Old-style equipment operated by muscular effort, such as hand-brakes, some turntables, engines without automatic stokers, etc. 1950 Western Folkl. 9.115 nwOR [Logger Talk], Armstrong plow. A shovel. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 225 Ozarks, Some old-timers call any outmoded tool an armstrong, I heard a barber refer to his old-fashioned razor in this way: "Most men over fifty would rather shave with an armstrong, if they could keep it honed .

.

.

DN

,

.

.

—

A Armstrong heater

89

an' stropped."

strong

method

(Qu. 02, row 'em.

.

1958 McCulloch Woods Words

An

.

3 Pacific

— Any work done by hand, not machine. old,

NW, Arm-

1969

clumsy boat) Inf NY207, Armstrong boats

DARE

— you

Armstrong heater n [armstrong] joe One's arms (when used to embrace another). .

.

MD

—

A

small white bush bean (Phaseolus spp.). 1950 WELS (The smaller beans that are white when they are dry) 1 Inf, seWI, Navy beans common; army beans occasional usage. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 118, The smaller beans that are white when they are dry) InfsCT17, MD14, NJ50, NM12, NC55, PA102, Army beans.

—

army bug n Perh a soldier beetle (Cantharidae). 1968-69 DARE(Qu. R30, Other kinds of beetles) Ink KYI 1, Army they just go in droves, look sorta like lightning bug; TN26, Army bug don't fly, bugs. They crawl on the ground, [and] eat tomatoes. .

.

—

.

.

.

.

iarmy grass n 1 968 DARE (Qu. S8, A common kind of wild grass that grows infields: it spreads by sending out long underground roots, and it 's hard to get rid of) Inf MD26, Army grass.

armyworm

bird

oryzivorus)

.

.

.

n

In local

use.

The grey-brown

13.75, Bobolink (Dolichonyx

— Army worm bird (Mo.).

.

.

arn

.

Common n,

v

1 ,

more

is

1970

DARE

solid than speckled.

It

long-bodied

is

usage.

arn v 2 See earn

arnarougen See amarugian arnchy n Cf airish 2, astorperious 1926 Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 194

NYC

[Black],

They seem

to

think I'm putting on airs. My clothes or my English are too good. One of 'em called me an arnchy. Ibid 285 [Glossary of Negro Words and Phrases], Arnchy: a person who puts on airs.

arnest See earnest arnica n

Usu

I'amtkal, also |'arniki| (cf -y); also in r-less areas

I'amka, 'amki, 'aneki|

A

Forms.

1936 in

rural

['arniki].

anuki].

1

1.160 eTX,

districts,

Among

algebra,

Arnica

.

.

are

pronounced

.

['aeljibn],

.

LANE Map 516, 3 Infs, cwMA, [a-mkr, 1966-68 DARE (Qu. S20) Inf ME14, ['aneki].

Senses.

1

Std: a plant of the

2

Any

a>-mka,

.

.

.

.

.

.

b =dandelion. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 364, TfaraxacumJ Taraxacum

.

.

.

Arnica.

plant.

1966 Barnes - Jensen

gum

Diet.

UT Slang 4 A, Arnica

.

.

a local

name for the if

nent's marble, his shooter,

DARE (Qu.

no boundaries: Around-the-world.

A game similar to mumblety-peg, in which a knife is thrown at advancing around the circumference of a

1966ZX4i?.E(Qu. EE5

,

circle.

Games where you try to make a jackknife stick in

the ground), Inf AR18, Mumble-peg, stretch, around-the-world.

aroya See arroyo arpent n Also arpen

chiefly

[Fr]

LA

and other French

settle-

ment areas see

quot

1

94 1 McDermott.

1750 (1751) Bartram Observations 92, The breadth of the island at its lower end is two thirds of an Arpent, or thereabouts. 1800 in 1910 Commons Doc. Hist. Amer. Industrial Soc. 1 .253 LA, The proprietor of several thousand arpents of land. 1878 Appletons' Jrl. new ser 5.41 3/1, In St. Louis they measure land not by acres but by arpens. 1931 Read LA French 3, Arpent is still in common use among the French of South Louisiana. 1941 McDermott Gloss. Missip. Valley French, Arpen.

Common

spelling for arpent The exact figure is 191.838 English As a unit of measure the arpent of Paris equaled .8449 English acre. 1941 O'DonneM Great Big Doorstep225l,A, Abigsinkorabawg, like, that makes the property not valuable because it uses up two arpents of land. 1968 DARE (Qu. L6a. A piece ofland under cultivation: less than an acre) Inf M025, Arpen ['crrpen]. .

.

.

feet ...

.

.

See arrow

arragate See irrigate arrand, arrant See errand

EE6d) Inf MI 103, Amies

['arms].

raster

An early Mexican device used to crush ore: a heavy stone dragged around a circular stone bed by mules or horses. 1835 Parker Trip to TX 266 [sic DA quot not found], Upstream you catch the growl of the arrastra. 1 867 Richardson Beyond the Mississippi 307, The arastra is the most primitive invention for crushing quartz. 1888 Wallace Land of Pueblos 163 NM, Quartz was ground in rude arrastres, or mills to which men and women were yoked like cattle. 1965 Silver City Daily Press (NM) 73/3 (as of c 1870), They built two arrastras (a rude dragstone mill for pulverizing ores) and with two barrels realized as high as $100 per day. 1969 DARE Tape CA120, Arrasta and they [sic] a round thing that they used to have a water wheel on, had big rocks that the water wheel turned and that's how they crushed

—

—

.

.

.

.

arre n [Perh a form of error reduced to a monosyllable] it

clear glass playing marble.

1969

around-the-world n 1 A circular motion of the hand in the game of jacks: see quots. 1953 Brewster Amer. Nonsinging Games 1 38 AR, The seventh phase is called 'Round-the- World'. This time the player tosses up the ball, picks up a jack, (with the hand in which the jack is held) makes a circular motion around the ball while it is still in the air, and then catches it. 1968 DARE FW Addit Reno NV, Around-the-world: Throw up ball. Hand makes a circular motion all the way around the ball. Pick up jack. 2 A marbles game: see quot. Also called follow-up 1963 KY Folkl. Rec. 9.3.60 neKY, Game played by shooting at oppo-

the rock.

plant.

arnick n Also arnie [Prob back-formation from onyx as were pi] See also arctic n 2

A

being loaded.

SW

genus Arnica. Also called leopard's bane of several plants which resemble Arnica spp, as:

=gum

out!

arrastra n Also sp arastra, arrastre, rarely arrasta [Span, from arrastrar to trail along the ground] now hist See also

a also arnica bud: =fall dandelion. NEng 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.99, Leontodon autumnalis, arnica. E. Mass. lS94Bot.Gaz. 19.432 MA, Arnica bud. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 219, Arnica-bud. 1910 Graves Flowering LfeontodonJ autumnalis Plants 409 CT, Fall Dandelion. Arnica. 1916 Torreya 16.240, Leontodon antumnalis [sic] Arnica, Matinicus I[slan]d., M[ain]e. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 4.

c

Watch

loggers:

older or less well educated people

1943

B

to get to one's

—

arr'

AmSp

Ibid wMI (as of

1958 McCulloch Woods Words 3 Pacific NW, Around the Horn! cry used by hoisters and hookers to warn knot-bumpers and other men around the landing that a log is being turned end for end in the air while

A unit of linear or square measure:

A

adj See iron

922), Arnick.

around the horn exclam

different places

FW Addit KY86, Armyworm bird: a grey-brown yellow-breasted bird whose appearance portends the coming of army worms which the birds eat.

1

it

around one's elbow See go around one's elbow thumb

3

=bobolink. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular

(as of

was set up in the V formed by the legs of a player sitting on the pavement for opponents to shoot at: marbles that failed to hit it were his to keep. /6/d[Wiersma student list], Arnie(s) [ar'niz], Largest size marble; one inch in diameter. 1924), ['arnik],

Among

army bean n [Cf common navy bean]

—

MI

A large glass marble;

arre

-aroo See -eroo

1920s in 1944 ADD cNY, Armstrong heater. The arms of one's sweetheart 'Are you cold? Where is your Armstrong heater?' Humorous. [Johns Hopkins Jargon], Armstrong 1932 AmSp 7.329 Baltimore arms when used to hold a girl. heaters .

Marbles Terms Grand Rapids

/

cl970 Wiersma

In phr throw one an arre: to misinform, mislead. 1938 AmSp 1 3.5 seAR, 'He threw me an arre.' That is he misinformed me.

-

.

arrer

arrowweed

/

90

arrer See arrow arriero n [Span]

SW

Also called packer

A

muleteer. 1824 Poinsett Notes on Mexico 27, The "arriero," mule owner. 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 1 28 SW, It is truly remarkable to observe with what dexterity and skill XheArrieros, or muleteers, harness and adjust the packs of merchandise upon their beasts. 1897 Inman SantaFe Trail 58, On the march the arriero is kept busy nearly all the time. 1968 Adams Western Words, Arriero

— A muleteer or packer; a man who packs loads

on mules. arrish adj

See airish

1

A

Arrish adj 2 See Irish

1891 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 4.223 Brooklyn NY, On a cold morning, when boys wish to play some game in order to keep warm, "arrow chase" is proposed. Sides are equally chosen, and a large boundary agreed upon. The side that starts first is provided with chalk, with which the players mark arrows upon the pavement, pointing the direction of their course. The others follow when five minutes have elapsed, tracking the pursued by the arrow-marks until all are caught. 1937 (1947) Bancroft Games 59, Arrow Chase ... is especially adapted to surroundings where a very devious chase may be given Every ten feet the runners must chalk a small arrow somewhere along their path The runners will use all possible finesse in making it difficult to find their arrows. 1969 DARE (Qu. EE33, Outdoor Games) Infs AL26, DC2, Arrow hunt. .

.

.

.

.

needlegrass 2 (here: Aristida purpurascens). 1946 Reeves- Bain Flora TX 51, A. purpurascens 1950 Hitchcock Manual Grasses 478, Arrowfeather .

.

.

—

=dragonfly. 1935 Sandoz Jules 42 wNE,

pints. dollars the arroba

12, They wash the and then they pack it in buck skin sacks of one arroba each. 1930 Lyman John Marsh 205, A cowhide represented two dollars, and tallow fifty cents the arroba. 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms, Ar1

.

roba ... Its chief use is in connection with dealings of flour or other produce in communities where the Mexican units of measure are or have been used and understood. It is not uncommon to hear an American in such communities speak of "an arroba of flour."

arrove See arrive in Sth,

Midi, occas

I'aro, 'are,

arrer

.

.

Ozarks, In narrow, arrow, the accented vowel has exactly the same sound as the a in father; such words are often reduced to monosyllables narr', arr'. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. S/?«r/?25eNC,wTN, Adistinct[a] does appear. A number of old people, and a few others, still say [6a&] there This sound, moreover, is frequent in one group of words: arrow, harrow, marrow. Ibid 80, Words of the type of arrow. When -rprecedes ow or -o, the treatment is not with [»], but usually with [a]. .

.

—

.

US A genus of aquatic plants {Peltandra spp) distinguished by broad

arrow arum n eastern half

arrow-shaped leaves, a white or green flower resembling a calla Also called arrowweed 3, breadroot, lily, and edible rootstocks. hog wampee, Indian bread, poison arum, spoonflower, tuckahoe, Virginia wake-robin,

wampee, wild

calla

1848 Gray Manual ofBotany 446, Peltandra, Raf. Arrow Arum. 1891 1931 Clute Common Jesup Plants Hanover 47, Arrow Arum. Plants 22, The thick, starchy rootstocks of the arrow-arum (Peltandra were boiled and thus supplied a nourishing, if not espeVirginica) 1972 Brown Wildflowers LA 10, Arrow-arum cially palatable dish. Leaves broadly triangular with sharp divergent basal lobes.

NH

.

.

.

.

arrowbrush n Also arrowbush [From the use of the branches as arrow shafts] SW =arrowweed 1. 1930 Chalfant Death Valley 85 CA, Juncus cooperi and Juncus meximoist alkaline swales, as does also Pluchea sericea, the arrow bush. 1933 Harrington Gypsum Cave NV9, There is a growth of arrow-brush about the nearest spring. 1968 DARE (Qu. T16) Inf NM13, Arrowbrush. canus,

grow

in

arrow chase n Also city version

arrowhead

also rarely

.

.

arrow hawk

noisily

fell

upon

the

fall's

An

aquatic plant of the genus leaves, white flowers, Also called arrowleaf, bull tongue,

lily:

by arrow-shaped

potato, wapato.

For other

names of the common sp Sagittaria latifolia see Chinese onion, muskrat potato, swan root, tule potato, wampee, water lily, waxflower. For other names of var spp see arrowweed 2, dog tongue wampee, goose grass, langue de boeuf, sweet grass, white potato, wild onion, wild potato.

1793 Amer. Philos. Soc. Trans, for 1791 3.180 PA, Sagittaria, Arrow1824 Bigelow Florida Bostoniensis 344, Sagittaria sagittifolia Arrow Head. 1911 Porter Harvester 229, Tall and slender, graceful, pearl white and pearl pure those are the arrowhead lilies. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. S26b) Infs GA35, NJ58, PA89, WI17, Arrowhead. .

.

—

~

hunt

2 =highbush cranberry. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 91, Viburnum edule mooseberry, arrowhead, viburnum.

of hare and hounds: see quot

1

89 1

— squashberry,

arrow hunt See arrow chase arrowleaf n

=arrowhead

usu Sagittaria

1,

latifolia.

1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 259, Sagittaria Arrowleaf. 1880 Harper's Mag. June 70, The frog pond with lush growth of arrow leaves and pickerel weed. 1931 Clute Common Plants 22, The starchy tubers .

of the arrow-leaf (Sagittaria as

duck potatoes.

latifolia)

.

.

are

.

.

now more frequently known

1946 Reeves- Bain Flora

TX 20 Arrowleaf

.

.

Petals

imbricated in the bud.

arrowvine n [From the shape of the leaves] =tearthumb (here: Polygonum sagittatum). 1950 Gray-Fernald Manual of Botany 587, PfolygonumJ sagittaArrow-vine. 1961 Smith Ml Wildflowers 101, Arrow-vine. tum 1970 Correll Plants TX 522, Tearthumb, arrow-vine. 1975 Duncan .

.

Foote Wildflowers

SE 26,

Arrow-vine.

arrowweed n 1

A composite shrub (Pluchea sericea),

willow-like branches.

[See quot 1911]

3- 12

SW

ft, with numerous Also called arrow-

brush, arrowwood e, cachimilla 1871 Browne Adventures 5 1 SW, Thickets of arrow- weed lined the way, and forests of cotton-wood loomed up ahead. 1911 Century Diet. Also is used by the Indians in making arrows Suppi, Cachimilla called arrow-weed. 1944 (1967) McNichols Crazy Weather 37 AZ, Here he built the Sacred House of logs and thatched it with arrowweeds setting the pattern for every Mojave's and covered it over with sand winter house for all time to come. 1965 Teale Wandering Through Winter 5 1 CA, Mounds of earth crowned with arrowweed lifted higher than our heads The wands of its stiff stems provided Indians of the with arrow shafts. 1970 Correll Plants TX 1619, valley Reported to be a Arrow-weed Locally abundant near streams good honey plant. .

.

.

.

—

.

.

A

Arrowfeather. Panicle one-

.

head^).

I'aero, 'aera, 'ero, 'era|;

Std senses, var forms. 1890 IW 1.71 LA, Arrow. aasinfather. 1891 (1967) Freeman New Engl. Nun 94, He was jest as straight as an arrer. 1928 AmSp 3.401

.

An

and edible starchy tubers. duck potato, swamp potato, swan

SW

arroba n [Span] A measure of twenty-five pounds or thirty-two 1824 Poinsett Notes on Mexico 149, At seventy-five of 25 lbs. 1891 DN 1.1 87 TX. 1909 Porter Options

.

.

arrowhead n 1

arr',

.

mosquito.

last

(Sagittaria) characterized

Pronc-spp

.

arrow hawk n

arro See ary

arrow n Usu

.

third to half the entire length of the plant.

arrnd See errand

.

.

.

.

ar|

.

A

Std senses, var forms. Past tense: usu arrived, occas ariv, arriv, arrove. 1872 (1973) Thompson Major Jones's Courtship 55 GA, 1 ariv here last night. 1893 Shands MS Speech 17, Arrove Used even by educated people for arrived. This past being formed upon the analogy of such words as drive, drove. 1914 DN 4.102 KS, Arrive Jocose use of arrove, arriv (past tense). 1916 ZW4.3 12 [Dialect of the Folk-songs], There Was a Rich Old Farmer. "The stage just arrove there."

.

.

arrowfeather n [From the appearance of the panicle]

arrive v

gold

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

arrowwood

91

=arrowhead

2

1.

obs

1846 J.W. Abert in Emory Mil. Reconn. 434 (OEDSj. Some brackish bordered with the arrow weed (sagittaria sagittifolia). 1886 pools Mitchell Roland Blake 263 sNJ, Those pools close by with purpled .

.

arrow-weed.

3 =arrow arum. 1913 Torreya 13.228, Arrow-weed,

New Richmond.

Mich.

arrowwood n Cf Indian arrowwood

Any of various plants with straight, tough shoots formerly used make arrow shafts as: a Any of several viburnums, but esp dockmackie and Viburnum to

dent at um. chiefly eastern half US 1709 (1967) Lawson New Voyage 107 S Atl, Arrow-wood, growing on the Banks, is used, by the Indians, for Arrows and Gun-Sticks. 1832 now, over-grown with Kennedy Swallow Barn 1.131 VA, Morasses 1892 thickets of arrow- wood, nine-bark, and various other shrubs. Apgar Trees N. U.S. 1 14, Arrowwood ... a shrub or small tree. 1935 Davis Honey 1 48, A morning fog that clouded low in the wet arrowwood and wild-lilac bush made it seem earlier. [Note: This quot may refer Kinds of swamp instead to arrowwood g.] 1967 DARE (Qu. T15, 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 293. trees) Inf WA30, Arrowwood. Other common name arrowwood. Viburnum .

.

There are many 'aroyas, 'that is beds of temporary streams with pools of water, which answer for stock purposes. 1892 D.\ .244 TX, Arroyito, arroyullo: diminutives of arroyo. 1914 DA' 4. 162 NVV, Arroya. 1915 (1922) Clark Sun & Saddle 147 AZ, Have you heard the 'royos singin? 1932 DN 6.223 SW, Arroyo ... is often used for any small canyon, generally a dry ravine, but its especial meaning seems to be a ravine cut by the water through the earth, so that the sides are not as steep as is often the case with a canyon. 1941 Dobie Longhoms 135 SW, The light shows me we're in a 'royo with the cattle comin' over the edge. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX 40, The Spanish loanword arroyo is well established in West and Southwest Texas [for dry creek (bed)], and extends to 1

.

.

a limited extent into adjoining parts of the state, but it is unknown in East Texas. 1965 - 70 (Qu. C2 1 A deep place cut in sloping ground by

DARE

running water) 23

,

Infs. chiefly

SW,

Arroyo; NJ30. Arrovo

from reading; TX28, Arrovullo: (Qu. CI)

TX1,

1

CA55. COl

Infs

— not

1,

26.

local;

NM6,

Arrovo; (Qu. D22) Inf TX26. Deep arrovo.

1.

.

.

.

arsle

/

.

—

.

b Flowering dogwood 1 (here: Cornus florida). [1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 132, The C florida is a handsome tree ... In Louisiana, where it is called Bois bouton or Bois defleche, (Budwood and Arrowwood) it blossoms in February.] 1850 New Engl. Farmer 2.60, The first [=dogwood] is the Arrowwood; so called from .

the use once

.

made

of its straight shoots, by the Indians, for their arrows. 1889 Century Diet., Arrow-wood ... A name given in the United States to several species of shrubs or small trees used by the Indians for making their arrows, as Cornus florida, and in the western territories Tessaria .

.

borealis.

•arroyo + varr

two related shrubs: usu wahoo atropurpureus), but also strawberry bush 1

c Either of

(here: (here:

Euonymus Euonymus

americanus). chiefly Sth 1884 Sargent Forests of N. Amer. 38, Euonymus atropurpureus Burning Bush. Wahoo. Spindle Tree. Arrow Wood. 1897 Sudworth .

.

atropurpureus ... Common Arrow-wood (Miss., La., 111., Mo.). 1933 Small Manual SE Names Flora 818, Arrow-wood The bark of the root is used medicinally. 1972 Dept. Ag. Farmers Market Bulletin 1 Oct 8, Hearts-a-bustin is only one of many common names for Euonymus americanus. Others include "Puppy Toes," "Spindle Bush," "Arrowwood."

Flora

Arborescent .

.

Euonymus

281,

.

.

.

.

GA

.

.

.

d =sourwood. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 314, Oxydendrum arboreum Arrow-wood (W. Va.). 1921 Deam Trees ZA'265, When coppiced it [sourwood] grows long slender shoots which the boys of the pioneers 1950 used for arrows. A pioneer called the tree "arrow wood." Peattie Nat. Hist. Trees 529, Sourwood Other Names: Sorreltree. Sour Gum. Arrowwood. .

arroyo grape n =frost grape. 1886 Havard Flora W.

& S. TXfor 1885 511, Arroyo grape ... [is a] small but excellent berries maturing in October. 1891 Coulter Botany W. TX 63, V. riparia Michx (Riverside grape.) Also known as 'arroyo grape.' 1900 Lyons Plant Names 395. Aroyo [sic] Grape. VfitisJ vulpina thrifty climber, the

.

.

.

.

.

=arrowweed 1889

1.

chiefly

arrowwood

.

.

SW

1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101.164, Arrowweed also known by the vernacular names arrowbush, arrowwood, and osikakamuk, is probably the only western shrub of this group. 1960 Vines Trees 999. It [Pluchea sericea] is also known under the vernacular names of Arrow-wood [etc.]. [see

.

.

b].

.

.

chiefly

SW and other Spanish settle-

Rice cooked with chicken and seasoned with garlic, saffron, and other condiments. 1939 Berolzheimer U.S. Cookbook 590 SW, Arroz con Polio Chicken paprika saffron rice pimientos peas. 1966 DARE Tape FL23, Arroz con polio Spanish chicken and rice dish which is a specialty of the area. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. H45. Dishes that everybody around here would know) Infs AZ12, Arroz con polio [ros kon 'bono]: CA54. Arroz con polio rice with chicken sauce: C027, Arroz con polio. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

—

arry See ary

.

SW

f

.

arroz con polio n [Span] ment areas

.

e

.

.

1

.

.

(Qq. C1, C21, D22)

=Carolina buckthorn. 1951 PADS 15.36 TX, Rhamnus caroliniana

arse-end-to See ass-end-to

arse from one's elbow, not to elbow, not to

.

.

.

Yellow buckthorn;

arrow- wood.

know

g =ocean spray (here: Holodiscus discolor). Pacific 1934Haskin Wild Flowers Pacific Coast 165, Arrow- Wood Holodiscus discolor This is one of the Indian arrow-woods, for the straight young shoots made almost perfect arrow shafts. h =serviceberry (here: Amelanchier alnifolia). 1951 PADS 15.13, Amelanchier alnifolia Arrow-wood, Okanagon

arsesmart See ass-smart

.

.

.

.

.

River [Washington] region.

arroyo n Also aroya, arroya, royo, dimin arroyito, arroyullo [Span] chiefly See Map A brook or creek; also, a gully or water-carved channel. (Note: it is often unclear whether a writer refers to the stream or its bed) [1806 U.S. Congress Debates & Proc. 1.57 nwTX, The country east of the Sabine to the Arroyo Hondo.] 1872 Tice Over Plains 49 nwKS,

SW

1

See ass from one's

arsemart See ass-smart arsenicker n =great white heron 1. 1945 McAtee Nomina Abitera

.

know one's

one's

26, Great

White Heron

.

.

Arsenicker

Florida east coast.

arse-up See ass-up arsh adj See airish arsk See ask v Aid arsle v Also sp assle, azzle [Du aarzelen to move backward, hesitate; recent assle is prob due to folk-etym] 1

To back out (of a place or situation). [EDD arsle 1] 1899 (1912) Green \ A Folk-Speech, Arsle ... To arsle. to move back-

1

,

arsmart

92

ary

/

DN

"We 2.305 seMO, Azzle or azzle out wards; to back out. 1903 made a fair trade but he azzled out of it the next day and wouldn't deliver the property.' .

.

.

2 To move when in a sitting position; to fidget. [EDD arsle 2] 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 2 cPA Mts (as of cl900), Arsle— To sit unquietly.

3 To loaf; to idle about restlessly. See also ass around Fool around, be obviously idle or cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Assle in the way of those who are trying to work. Assing around is apparently the more common local variant. 1967 Wilson Folkways Mammoth Cave No. 2 27, Assle. To be lazy and aimless. 1970 DARE (Qu. KK3 To go about aimlessly lookingfor distraction: "He doesn have anything around. ") Inf AR56, Assling; FL52, Assling to do so he's just around [used by] the old folks. .

.

.

1

't

—

artichoke potato n

The tuber of the Jerusalem 1969

SC Market

1956 Sorden-Ebert Logger's Words Gt Lakes. arster See oyster

a rter prep, adv

.

n Usu

An

OED artery for early exx

artery.

1929 AmSp 5. 28 1

ME coast, So mad

AmSp 49.59 swME (as of [in

of this form in Engl] 1974

thought he'd bust an arter.

I

Apocopation occurs notebooks of George Savary Wasson]. 1900s),

in arter' 'artery'

artetu n, alsoattrib [arter pronc-sp for after toward the rear

two]

+ tu

obs or arch

The

fifth thwart, or rower's seat, in a six-handed boat. 1945 Amer. Neptune 5.87 Cape Cod MA, [Question:] I found that in still call the tub-oar-thwart the 'Artetu' Provincetown the old men [Rethwart. In fact this thwart was called artetu for a long time sponse:] When the whalers used the 5 handed boat with 4 thwarts the 4 was the after thwart[;] when the 6 handed boat was used, 5 thwarts were used adding one more after thwart which made two after thwarts. .

.

.

I'artakall; in

Sth,

S Midi,

arther, arthur See author

$arthu ratios n [Blend of arthuritis

rheumatism. 1967 DARE (Qu. BB8) Inf LA8,

+

rheumatics]

Arthritis,

['oOa.raetiks].

arthuratics,

.

.

artificial

An

rheumaSame as Very modern substitute

Arthuritis [.ardVastas]:

csKY,

Coll.

Artheritis

DARE

1965-70

.

.

.

.

(Qu. BB8) 18

.

Infs, chiefly

Sth,

Midi, Arthuritis [.arO^'aidis, -Us]; AZ2, MI93, WV8, Arthureetis [.arO^'itis, -iz];(Qu. BB5)InfsM016, 35, Arthuritis. 1965-66 DARE

TapeDCIO,

[oGa'raitts];

MS56,

An

outdoor

artificial flower.

1842 Amer. Pioneer 1 .274, After they have passed the lines of silks, laces and artificials. 1856 Whitcher Bedott Papers 26.3 1 6 NY, She had on a yaller bunnit with a great pink artificial on it. 1874 (1895) Eggleston Circuit Rider 213 IN, He has taken pains to buy her jewelry and 1935 Sandoz Jules 99 wNE (as of 1890s), "artificials" in abundance. Them plagued Methodist preachers ... go against dancing and artificials.

artillery

n

orig Personal weapons; also occas, personal belongings, West, now more widespread joe 1903 (1965) Adams Log Cowboy 198 NM, We were in the office of the 1930 Dobie Coronado 361 SW, livery, surrendering our artillery. 1944 Adams Western Words 6, Artillery, pistols, personal weapons. Artillery ... I heard one cowhand say of a heavily armed man, "He's packin' so much artillery it makes his hoss swaybacked." 1950 Western Folkl. 9.138 West, Familiar epithets for the revolver were equalizer, Bagartillery. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Artillery shoot in' iron, gage, belongings. "Here he comes, bringing all his artillery." Rarely used now ... A gun, esp. a pistol. Normally used as a humorous expression. 1

354,

Inf,

1

cRI, Arthur's

office.

S Atl, esp SC Jerusalem artichoke which has been pickled in vinegar with sugar, spices and hot peppers. [1847 (1979) Rutledge Carolina Housewife 183 SC, To pickle artichokes. Scrape the artichokes, and throw them into water until all are scraped and put them into fresh vinegar to remain.] 1965 Colonial Soak artichokes and onions in Kitchens 60 GA, Artichoke Pickle mix sugar, mustard and tumeric [sic]. Add vinegar. brine Sauce 1965-70£l4.R.E'(Qu. H56, Kinds of pickles favored around here)lnk GA12, 15, NC14, 23, SCI, 4, 7, 22, 43, 56, Artichoke pickle(s); [NC16, 79, Artichokes]; (Qu. H57, Tasty or spicy side-dishes) 9 Infs, all SC, Artichoke pickle(s). 1976 DARE File SC, Back to the artichokes of my .

.

.

.

.

childhood. Artichoke pickle

and a

.

.

.

the recipe

string of hot peppers,

.

as

.

.

Artillery

.

.

likely to

.

light artillery (beans).

purposes n pi Also mechanical and Devious or illicit intentions: see quot.

artistic

~

—

The full phrase is Lingo 37, Artistic purposes 1975 Gould Booze was outlawed except as "mechanical and artistic purposes" physician, or when it was to be used for "mechanical prescribed by a In Maine conversations, artistic purposes and artistic purposes." means little more than devious intentions, a high-sounding substitute for used to go down to something less than noble. Hank Woodbury Boston on the steamcars for what he called artistic purposes. .

.

.

.

.

ary adj

Usu

airy, arro,

|'eri|,

also

|'ae(3)ri,

any; old-fash sp

'eri,

.

Pronc-spp air, aire, a [Alter oie'er a ever a] Addit quots in ADD, DAE

'aero|

e'er a, ere

throughout US, but esp Sth, Midi See also aim, arything, nary

.

—

.

salt,

.

.

Beans. 1946 AmSp 2 1 .89, The virile language of the culinary workers of the old logging and construction camps or the recent war-time service camps, such

.

A

.

— Beans, or any other food

.

1

artichoke pickle n

.

joe 1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Artillery. ferment. 1946 AmSp 21.31 ceTX,

.

See arctic n

artic, ar'tic

.

.

ME

toilet.

LANE Map

1941

[.arOa'raitis].

CfASWla-c

^Arthur's office n joe

.

n ?obs

2 Beans,

Arthritis;

cl960 Wilson

shift |ar'tikl,

Std senses, var forms. 1891 PMLA 6. 1 75 TN, Articles accented on the second syllable. 1893 Shands MS Speech 17, Article is pronounced by illiterate whites with a strong accent on the second syllable. 1940 Stuart Trees of Heaven 48 neKY, He might make a good renter, but a man would have to bind him up mighty tight with a ar-tickle. Ibid 172, Git that ar-tickle and bring it in here. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Article is sometimes |'ar,tikl|.

.

arthuritis n Usu LarG^'aitis, -dis|;seequotsforvarr. Pronc-spp [Folk-etym] esp Sth, Midi See also artheritis, arthureetis

for rheumatis(m).

occas stress

Pronc-sp ar-tickle

.

'arth See earth

tism.

.

.

.

Old Arthur rheumatism. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN,

.

.

.

.

arter n [Cf

See also

.

.

.

See after Al

SC

condiment consisting of chopped Jerusalem artichokes, onions, and peppers in a spiced vinegar sauce. 1964 Favorite Recipes Virginias 9 seVA, Hors D'Oeuvres Jerusalem Artichoke Relish Grind peppers and onions; mix with artichokes, paste, vinegar and 3 cups of sugar. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H57, Tasty or spicy side-dishes served with meat) 10 Infs, all SC, Artichoke relish; (Qu. H56) Inf SC56, Artichoke relish. 1976 DARE File SC, Artichoke relish is chopped artichokes in a "sauce" made with mustard and flour ... It is eaten with pilau chicken and with pork ham. 'ar.tiklj

In logging: a derrick for loading logs onto a sleigh or railroad car.

Atl, esp

A

article

Also called jammer

~ S

artichoke relish n Also Jerusalem artichoke pickle

arsmart See ass-smart

arsneau n [Etym unknown]

artichoke.

Bulletin 9 Jan 3/3, Artichoke potatoes for pickles.

I

have

.

.

says vinegar, sugar,

and some peppercorns.

Any, either; a single. 1818 Fessenden Ladies Monitor 1 7 VT [In list of "Provincialisms" to be avoided], Ary for any or either. 1836 ( 1 955) Crockett Almanacks 5 wTN, Ary one of us could double up two such fellows any minute. 1 887 what's (1967) Harris Free Joe 121 GA, They hain't any livin' man ever seed anybody wi' them kind er eyes settled down an' married. 1 895 DN 1 .376 eTN, Ary other shows how completely the old sense has been 1903 DN 2.295 Cape Cod MA. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT. Ibid 60 NE. lost. 1

1

.

.

8

ary'n

93

1907 DA' 3.208 nwAR, Ary or airy. 1908 DA' 3.285 eAL, wGA. 1909 1914 DA' 4.158 cVA. 1926 Roberts Time of Man cKY, I didn't say e'er a word. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 24 MS, Ah been han'lin babies sence 'fo' you er Miss Betty aire one wuz bawn. 1931-33 LANE Worksheets seMA, Ary ['en] Either. Ary one, they're both the same. 1940 Sat. Eve. Post 23 Nov 101/2 sGA, "You- catch air fox?" "You know we caught air fox." 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.516, Have you got ary cow you can sell me? Ibid, Arro Airy ['sen] E'er a, any Illiterate. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, E'er a ['aero] 1964 one., still common. I'asr.wanl emphatic; otherwise |aern|. Faulkner Hamlet 1 2 MS, Go on record as saying he set ere a one of them afire. Ibid 33, Careful as ere a horse and mule ever moved in this world. 1967DAR£(Qu.LL14)InfSC44,Hain'taryaone— joking only. 1968

DN 3.408 nME.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

DARE Tape GA61,

.

.

[aeari].

2 =nary.

DARE (Qu.

1965-69

"This pond used to be full offish but Inf GA18, Ary one, nary one used interchangeably by country people; IN32, Ary one; MS30, Ary ['asri] one; NH16, Ary a one.

now

there's

LL14,

.

.

—

left. ")

C As

[OED

— 1705]

as 26

Something. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 1 52 nFL, sGA, Everybody used to feast an' like we-uns be goin' to do, provided we git arythin' to feast on.

frolic

as

.

.

conj, pron, prep,

spp

ez,

is,

iz,

adv Usu

|aez, sz|;

also occas

|ez, iz|

Pronc-

uz

A

Std senses, var forms. 1848 Lowell Biglow 4 'Upcountry' MA, It would du ez slick ez grease. 1858 ( 1 892) Holmes One Hoss Shay 1 5 NEng, "'N' the way t' fix it, uz I maintain, / Is only jest / make that place uz strong uz the rest." 1887 Scribner's Mag. 2.475 AR, Iz ter dat, I ain't no jedge. 1888 Jones Negro Myths 3 GA coast, Eh jis is bex wid um is eh kin be. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 248 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], Soon ez I lef de 'ooman 'e leddown flat 'puntop 'e back en' gone 'sleep. Ibid, passim. 1941 AmSp 16.5 eTX [Black], As [ez]. 1942 in 1944 ADD AR, As [jist iz nuc] jist iz much. Radio.

T

.

.

.

.

.

B As conj. usu after a neg phr with know, see, or say: That; if. [OED as : "Obs. and replaced by that; but still common in southern [English] dialect speech, where often expanded to as 1

—

28, 1483

how"] See

also as how 859 Essex Inst. Coll. 1.13/2 MA, I Don't no as I shall [have a dollar] for six months to come. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 404 IN, "Have the gentlemen given up the bargain?" "Well, I don't know as they has." 1846 ( 1 934) Boynton Jrl. 362 VT, I am not quite certain as I had better run the risk of this place. 1891 ( 1 967) Freeman New Engl. Nun 1 87, 1 don't see as he looked a mite different. 1906 3. 1 25 nwAR, As "We visited Brother Joe Spear and he tells as he and others around him has a fine prospect for a crop of berries this spring." Arkansas newspaper. 1908 DA 3.287 eAL, wGA. 1909 DA' 3.419 Cape Cod MA. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.51 6,^45 "I don't know as I can go today." Illiterate. 1958 Humphrey Home from the Hill 210 TX, I don't know as I'd go quite that far myself, but it sure shows he ain't worth much. 1 967 - 68 DARE Tape MI60, 1 can't say as I know; GA25, 1 don't know as anybody was ever pestered with warts; ME6, 1 don't know as I can tell you.

1782

in

1

DW

.

.

.

.

.

—

r

.

.

.

—

2 used to introduce an adv clause: In so far

as; that.

1676 (1878) S. Sewall Diary 1.16 MA, He gave no answer, as I remember. 1881 Harper's Mag. June 63.89/2, She handed back no words, as I could hear. 1947 Dadswell Hey There Sucker 47 FL, One man had all his horses stolen and never found them as we know of. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. JJ29) Infs 19, NY75, Not as I can remember; .

.

MO

MD19,

know comparisons: Than. 36, 41,

Not

as

I

of;

SCI 9, Not

as

I

recollect.

as 4—1824: "Obs. exc. in dialects."] chiefly Midi, Sth Cf than conj 1891 PMLA 6.169 WV, Would you rather have this as that? 1893 Shands MS Speech, As Used after comparatives by illiterate whites "This is better as that." 1895 DAM. 376 eTN, As: for than. "I would rather see you as him." 1902DA 2.228sIL,/l5 'I'd rather do this as that."I love this better as that.' 1907 DN 3.220 nwAR. 1910 DA' 3.456seKY. 1937 Hall Coll. eTN, I'd rather work as go to school. 1971 Foxfire 5.84 cwGA, She wouldn't pay me a bit more 'tention as if I'uz th' wind a'blowin'.

3 in

.

.

.

.

[OED

.

.

.

.

r

.

.

.

I'll

never

a

little

thing as

As pron.

Who. whom, which,

common

[OED

that.

as 24, "Obs. in standard

England and the United States."] formerly widespread, now chiefly Midi, Sth See also all's English, but

dial, in

869 Winthrop Life & Letters 2.40 MA, I found that love and from Capt. Milburne our master, as I may not forget. 1852 Stowe Uncle Tom 's Cabin 1 9 KY, I've seen 'em as would pull a woman's child out of her arms. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 1 1 8 sl.\. There's one as'll help me. 1895 (1969) Crane Red Badge 8, They like nothing better than the job of leading off a young feller like you. as ain't never been away from home. 1905 DA' 3.2 cCT. 1931 PMLA 46. 1 320 s Appalachians, The man as you saw. 1944 PADS 2.39 wNC, LA, "Them as thinks they can whup me jest come ahead." 1952 As Brown A'C Folkl. 1.516, ,4s "These folks as go around meddling with other folks' business ought to be shot." Illiterate. cl960 Wilson Coll. "This feller is one as owns this farm." 1967 Cerello csKY, As Dakota Co. A/A' 48, The only disadvantage of chair-buying as I can see is that you don't get a chance to inspect what you're buying.

1630

in

1

respect

.

.

.

.

.

arything pron

let

relic

1941 Stuart Grandpa Birdwell neKY (ADD), a copperhead crawl into my house.

.

.

.

.

aim

ary'n See

asarabacca

prep.

Like; such as.

D

/

.

.

asabecca See asarabacca asafetida n, also attrib Usu |,aes3'fetid3|; also laesa'fitsda, -fititi, .asza- often in Sth, Midi, and less frequently elsewhere, metath |,aes(3)'fiditi. -fediti| and aphet |'fiditi| Pronc-spp asafoetida, asafoetidy, asfedity, as(a)fidity, assafedity, fidity See also fetty 1;

Std sense, var forms. 1 844 Thompson Major Jones 's Courtship 1 69 GA, I had to take her rite back to the hotel and stay with her all the evenin, and give her assafedity and hold the hartshorn to her nose. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 89 MS, Put in a few draps uv te'pentime, a little asfedity, en de juice out'n a red ingon, you's got a linimint den dat'll cyore any kin' uv mis'ry er rheumatiz dar is in de worl'. 1931 N. Amer. Rex. May 432 NYC (as of cl850), My mother told me her own grandparents and doctors of that day spoke always of asafoetidy. 1936 AmSp 1 1.250 eTX, Asafoetida Shows interchange of [t] and [d]. It is pronounced [aes'fiditi], [ae-s'fiditi], by all. 1940 Harris Folk Plays 55 NC, Give me my as-fidity pills, honey, and a little water in a glass. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, .

.

.

.

Asafetida ... often

1965-70

or

laesa'frtodal

|-'fititi|.

Ibid,

Fidity

[Tiditi].

—

DARE (Qu.

BB50) Inf KS5, Asafidity [seza'fiditi] in a sack 'round the neck; MI89, Asfedity [aes'fediti]; IL14. Asafidity [aesafiditi] a kind of herb that used to be tied around the neck; (Qu. HH 4, Ways ") Inf TX95, Asfidity "Go get me of teasing a beginner [assfidati] if you send someone to a newspaper or sawmill to get it (i.e., the wrong place).

—

1

.

—

.

asafetida bag n Also

.

~ sack

old-fash

A

small sack containing asafetida, worn around the neck as a protection from contagious diseases. 1937 Sandoz Slogum 40 NE, She cared for all the sick, even if it was typhoid or smallpox, wearing a greasy asafetida sack on a string that lay in the folds of her thickening neck to ward off disease. 1946 PADS 6.4 eNC (as of 1900-05). 1951 PADS 15.52 nelN. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1967 DARE FW Addit neLA, Asafetida [.aes'fmdi] bag— prevention for measles. "You never would catch nothing with that around oldyour neck, because nobody never would get that close to you." fashioned. 1967 DARE Tape IA2, I have relatives that carried an [aesa'fidati] bag around their neck. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. BB50a) Inf PA 147. Asafidity [aesj'fiditi] bag worn around neck to ward away colds; (Qu. BB50d) Inf KY54, Asafetida bag— old-fashioned, toward off

—

—

disease; IL35, Asafidity [assa'fidrti] bag. [All Infs Old]

asarabacca n Also pronc-spp asabecca, asarabocca, azabecker, sarabacca [OED 1551 Appalachians or obs

=wild ginger

—

formerly

»]

eUS now prob

relic in

1.

1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 71, Asarum canadense

Broadleaf Asarabacca. Ibid 73, Henry calls it Swamp Asarabocca, although never growing in swamps. 1847 Wood Class-Book 465, AfsarumJ has been considCanadense. Wild Ginger. Asarabacca The root ered useful in whooping-cough A. Virginicum [=Hexastylis virginicaj Sweet-scented Asarabacca. 1942 Hench Coll. cVA, A fellowteacher who has his home in the country tells me that asabecca or azabecker is a local name for one form of wild ginger. 1971 Kroch.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 7

,

asatoria

ashcake

/

94

mal Appalachia Med. Plants 66, Asarum canadense broad-leaved sarabacca. names: Canada wild ginger, .

.

.

.

Common

.

tash bomb n =ash can 2.

asatoria See azoturia

1969

ascared

adj Pronc-spp ascaid, ascairt, askeared, askeerd, a-

skeered

[a inert

vowel

+ scared]

1

chiefly Midi,

Sth

Scared, afraid. 1926 Vollmer Sun-Up 53 wNC, I ain't askeered of no Yankee nohow. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 52 eTN, wNC, I never was a-scared so bad. 1950 PADS 14.12 SC, Askeared. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Askeared Afraid [a'skjird, -'erd]. 1963 Owens Look to River 93 TX, You ain't got no need to be a-scaid o' me. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. Frightened: "The children were GG25, he was going to hurt them. ") Infs CA15, 107, IL97, MD2, MI26, 33 TX28, Ascared; TNI 3, Ascared to death; GA30, A-skeered. 1972 Atlanta Letters Macon GA, Have you ever been a-scairt? 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 4 s Appalachians, Most girls are askeerd uv mice. .

.

.

.

.

.

DARE

(Qu. FF14,

.

.

Kinds offirecrackers

.

.

around here) Inf

NY211, Ash bomb.

a scarce See a inert vowel 6

.

ash-box n Also ashes box =ashpan.

chiefly Sth, Midi,

West See Map

1847 U.S. Patent Office Annual Rept. for 1846: Arts & Mfgr. 26 1, The chamber of combustion and its grate and ash-box. 1855 Thomson Doesticks 287 NYC, [I] was knocked bodily into an ash-box by the foreman of engine 73. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. F12, The flat metal piece below a woodburning stove, to catch the ashes) 58 West, Ash-box; SC26, Ashes box.

Infs, chiefly Sth,

Midi,

.

as 'cording to prep [as + 'cording var of according + to] According to, depending upon. 1966 DARE Tape MS 14, Those things do make a big difference as 'cording [az'kordirj] to business in Hattiesburg; MS77, Some time it'll head up an' sometimes

it

won't as 'cordin' to what kind of season you

have.

ascrew adv

[Alter of askew, in fl

by screw twist] Askew, out of kilter; awry. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. MM 3, The table was nice and straight until he came along and knocked it WI2 ) Infs CA99, NY230, WA Ascrew; (Qu. KK10, "He didn work it out carefully enough, and his ") Inf WI52, Went ascrew. plan 1

1

.

,

1

't

.

asement See easement

ash bread n =ashcake 1.

aseria See azoturia

as

as prep Also so far as [Ellip concerned, perh infl by as for] far

As

for as far as (something)

is

cl950

Midi

— —

seWI, Ashbread cornbread made in Addit SC, Ash bread make dough, wrap in paper, rake back the coals cover with ashes. It's made in the chimbly [ambli]. 1966 DARE (Qq. H 5, 8) Inf SC9, Ash bread. 1967 PADS 47.5 SC. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 305 Sth, 129 [Infs] ...Ash bread. ashes.

for; regarding.

chiefly Sth,

Atlas

1966

Checklists

DARE FW

—

1

[1927 Fowler Diet. Mod. Engl. Usage 70/ 1 As or sojfarj as x cannot be used as short for as far as x goes or so far as concerns x] 1939 Canby Thoreau 2 1 7, The cabin was in perfect condition so far as frame and covering until 868. 1960 J.F. Kennedy in U.S. News & World Rept. 26 Sept 76/ As far as whether I could attend this sort of a function in your church then I could attend. 1 975 Newell IfNothin Don Happen 5 FL, And as far as makin' my brother stumble, eatin' meat ain't got nothin' to do with it. 1977 DARE File Madison WI [Radio], They will know what to do as far as the Oregon School for Girls. 1

.

,

.

1

1 ,

.

.

't

'

asfedity See asafetida asfelt See asphalt asfidity See asafetida

as good as adv phr adv

[OED

as C2c, 1523

—]

old-fash

Cf good

As

well as not; just as soon. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, As good as. In the phrase, I'd as good's go to New York, instead of "I might as well go to New York." Only heard among the illiterate. 1871 ( 1 882) Stowe Fireside Stories 1 NEng, She said ef there was any thing under that 'are rock, they'd as good's have it as the Devil. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT, As good as ... As well. 'I'd as good as go.' 1

ash See ash maple,

ashamed

prickly ash

Midi Esp of children: bashful, timid. adj chiefly

DN

Ashamed "The child's always ashamed before company." 1924 Raine Land of Saddle-Bags 104 sAppalachians, "The littl'un's ashamed (bashful). She hain't much manners." 1933 AmSp 8.1.47 Ozarks, Ashamed When used in speaking of a child or a young girl, this word does not mean ashamed in 1916

4.337 csPA, LA, KS,

.

.

.

.

the ordinary sense, but merely timid or bashful.

Ashamed Bashful. cwTN. cl960 Wilson .

.

ash-barrel baby n

An

Said of timid children.

.

Coll.

.

.

1946 PADS 6.4 eNC, 1954 Harder Coll.

csKY.

CfZXSZllb

AmSp

24. 106

neGA, Ash-barrel baby

.

.

.

Bastard.

.

1

ash breeze n Also white-ash breeze chiefly Nth, esp NEast 1 An oar or oars (as made of ash wood) used instead of a sail and wind to propel a boat; rowing. 1834 Visit to TX 105 Nth, We laid in provisions but were disappointed in having no wind. We, however, took advantage of what is sometimes called the "ash breeze:" that is, our oars, and proceeded down the bay. 1851 (1976) Melville Moby-Dick 35 1, There she slides, now! Hurrah for the white-ash breeze! 1883 in 1 962 Sears Adirondack Letters 157 nNY, There came from the outlet a swift, double-ended blue boat with only a guide in her, and the guide was giving her an ash breeze for all she was worth. 1919 Kyne Capt. Scraggs 92 CA, Well, you've lost a good skiff worth at least twenty-five dollars not to mention the two ash breezes that went with her. 1950 Moore Candlemas Bay 13 ME, "Which you rather have, Pa? A hundred hosspower engine or an ash breeze?" That last crack was at Grampie's old boat, Jeb knew, because an "ash breeze" was a pair of oars. 1957 Beck Folkl. 115, If things were too hard the "ash breeze" (oars) replaced worn-out sails. .

.

ME

2 Transf: a temporary substitute device or appliance. 1975 Gould Lingo, Ash breeze. If the crew of a becalmed sailing vessel breaks out the sweeps and begins to row, the effort is called "making an ash breeze." Ash was the favored wood for oars. Hence, any make-do contrivance can be an ash breeze.

ME

ashbucket apprentice n obs A low-level worker on a canal emptying ashes. 1955 Adams Grandfather NY (as

boat, given the menial task of

of c 1830), The designation of the vagrant bands that had formerly ranged canalside was familiar to us: gyppos, pinkies, tenkers, swingkettles, and ashbucket apprentices. .

.

ashcake n

A

chiefly Sth, S Midi Fig 1 19. Also called ash 1 4, 15, 18 See also DS 1816 Ker Travels 111, The kind host regaled us with a good supper, or good for a wilderness country; it consisted of ash cake, venison, and bear's meat, besides coffee. al883 (1911) Bagby VA Gentleman 232, 1

cornmeal bread baked in hot ashes,

map in 1949 Kurath Word-Geog. bread, ~ dog, ~ nan, ~ pone, fire cake See

illegitimate child.

1949

.

H

ash can

95

Fish of the very best, both salt and fresh, chicken, eggs, milk and the 1899 (1912) invincible, never-satisfying ash-cake and fried bacon.

A Folk-Speech, Ashcake ... A loaf of corn bread baked in 1903 £>A'2. 305 seMO. 1906 DA 3. 125 nwAR. 1908 DN3. 287 eAL, wGA. 1947 Bowles -Towle New Engl. Cooking 4, Crisp hot ashcakes, baked Indian fashion among the hearth ashes of the kitchen fireplace, were a popular breakfast bread in New England. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.270, Ashcake. Sift one pint of cornmeal, add a pinch of Cover the cake with ashes and put a few coals on top. Bake for salt twenty minutes. 1966 DARETape MS75, Ashcakes is corn bread. You and you cook that in the ashes. make it up just soft and warm 1966-70 DARE (Qu. H14, Bread that's made with cornmeal) Inf VA35, old-fashioned; TX4, Ashcakes; (Qu. Ashcake baked in the fireplace HI 8) Infs FL49, SCI, VA69, Ashcake; (Qu. HI 5) Inf SC26, Ashcake— roll it, wrap in heavy paper, heat the paper, cook lard, flour, milk, salt also of cornmeal. 1967 DARE FW Addit ceTN, it in the hot ashes take cornmeal, fix it like bread, wrap it in paper, cover with Ashcake ashes and bake. Eat with sweet milk. Green

I

ashes.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

— —

—

1

Pa.) 4 Oct 1/3 (DA), Ever since these black stones [=coal] were brought to town, the wood-sawyers

and pilers, and then soap-fat and hickory ashes-men, has been going down. 1846 Corcoran Pickings 6 LA, Knocking over the ashes barrels, shying stones at the lamps. 1902 DN 2.228 sIL, Ashes Used in singular as This ashes.' 1966 DARE (Qu. F12) Inf SC9, Ashes tray; SC26, Ashes box. 1

.

1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Ashcake the ends of tobacco hogsheads

.

2 In phrr haul one's ashes, get one's ashes hauled: To be sexually

among Black speakers

chiefly

satisfied,

1958 Silverman Folk Blues 245 LA [Black], Well, you see that spider climbin up the wall, / Goin' up there to get her ashes hauled. 1951 Longstreet Pedlocks 93 MT, We'll get a box at the Comique, then Never had an Indian girl myself. 1963 go get our ashes hauled Wright Lawd Today 76 Chicago IL [Black], He hauls my ashes / He strokes my fiddle / Lawd, he's a damn good man to have around.

al939

in

.

.

.

1

.

on the

.

.

.

Lumps

of clay formed on

"rolling roads."

ash-faced adj

.

Cf ash-cat

ash-spots, ashy 2, high yellow

2,

Of Blacks: having an ashen complexion;

ash can n

DN

1902

=ash-cat

.

ashes box See ash-box

2 Transf: see quot.

1

freq attrib

pi,

used where sg is expected: Ash. 1836 Franklin Repository (Chambersburg,

.

—

—

ashes n

ash-leach

/

2.305

seMO, Ash-faced

.

.

.

light-skinned.

Applied to mulattoes or

light

negroes in contempt.

3.

A locomotive fireman may be called a

1932 Santa Fe Mag. 26.2.34/1,

ashfork maple See ash maple

tallow pot, ash can.

A small but relatively powerful firecracker, cylindrically shaped and covered with tinfoil. [Prob transf from military use of ash can, a high-explosive depth charge: cf DAS, OEDS] chiefly NEast Also called ash bomb around here) 1966-70 DARE (Qu. FF14, Kinds offirecrackers TN65, Ash cans; ME 5, Ash cans [drawing in text]; Infs NY87, 8, 24 MAI, Ash can bigger than [a] cherry bomb, has tin foil on outside; PA1 13, Ash can blockbuster. 3 A type of floating buoy resembling an ashcan. 1966 DARE (Qu. 014a) Inf SC21, Ash cans— a nickname. 2

.

1 1

1

.

.

— —

also ash-cat-Sam:

—

A

sit

on)

dirty or disheveled person, esp a child.

Folk-Speech 69, Ashcat ... A child that plays in the ashes, dirtying its hands, face and clothes. 1910 C. Harris Eve's Husband 120 (DA), He came home late at night looking like an ash-cat-Sam.

A

gaunt Black person.

1909

S. Atl. Qrly.

Cf ash-faced

8.47 Gullah,

The description

.

.

is

graphic; so

is

.

.

the

A

soap.

.

1942 Perry Texas 122,

hominy

ash-hopper

A

own wash

in their

ill-fed,

thin

and byways,

creature of the streets

and ragged negro,

outcast, a

as an ash-cat. [Footnote:] Ill-fed,

ill-conditioned negroes were so-called in derision of their grayish-hued, .

.

.

Masters and owners of such "ash-cats" were

3 In railroading: a locomotive fireman. Also called ash can 1, ash-eater 1945 Sun (Baltimore MD) 29 Aug 2-0/6 (Hench Coll.), It's everyday conversation among the men who operate the railroads locomotive fireman. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 331. Mixed Train 353.

.

.

—

Ashcat 1947 Beebe .

from wood ashes. make their own

still

pots.

n, also attrib chiefly Sth,

Midi

A

funnel-shaped receptacle for ashes being kept for soapmaking, obsolescent (Illustr in DA) Also called ash-leach 1804 in 1814 Amer. Mineralogical Jrl. 1.105 KY, Cubic Salts thrown upon the ash-hoppers, are supposed to assist in precipitating the lime. 1864 922) Jackson Col. 's Diary 1 22 cwPA, Mr. Hooker upset her ash hopper. 1929 in 1977 Pissing in the Snow 53 seMO, That old man could make the prettiest buckskin you ever seen. He took the hair off with ash-hopper lye. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Ash-hopper Container for wood ashes, from which lye is obtained to make soft soap. Only a memory now. "We tore down our old ash-hopper last 1968 DARE Tape IN3, Ash-hopspring and built a new one." per built out of boards, kind of triangle shape and the big part was up And all through and it come down to a point open at the bottom the winter they would put their ashes in there. 1972 Foxfire Book 157 neGA (as of c 1920), We'd wet th' ashes and put'em in a ash hopper and save'em carry th' water and throw over th' And then we'd ashes and drip th' lye. .

.

.

.

.

( 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

gaunt and dingy faces held in great contempt.

in lye obtained

few of our rural citizens

.

description of an ill-stead,

.

.

ash hominy n Corn grains hulled by soaking

la

in similar sense] Also called singed cat 808 1869 Twain Innocents 262, They [=Italian women] sit in the alleys and nurse their cubs. They nurse one ash-cat at a time, and the others scratch their backs against the door-post and are happy. 1899 (19 12) Green VA

2

.

of the trunk hollowed out [and] used to collect ashes for barrel thus employed is often so called.

tree, generally

ash

ash-cat n 1

.

.

1966 DARE (Qu. X34, Joking words for the part ofthe body you Inf FL39, Ashcan.

[EDD

A receptacle for ashes, usu made from a section of a hollow gum-tree and kept outside the house. 1851 Hooper Widow Rugby's Husband 42 AL, A dozen fowls clustered A piece of a on top of the ash-gum. 1923 D A'5. 233 swWl, Ash-gum

1

,

%4 The buttocks, joe Cf can n 3c

1

ash-gum n Cfgumn

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

b in phr work one's own ash-hopper: Do one's own work. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 54 IN, Most time, mam, you'll have to work your own ash-hopper. 2 Transf:

=ashpan.

1967-70

DARE (Qu.

F12, The fiat metal piece below a wood-burning AL52, IL124, TN30, TX43, VA28, 42,

stove, to catch the ashes) Infs

Ash-hopper.

ashdoy n Cf dogbread, hushpuppy =ashcake 1914

ash-house n

1.

DN 4.153

CT, NH, Ashdogs up until soft, rolled up

water stirred then in hot ashes.

Indian meal [corn meal] with in cotton paper, put in cold ashes, .

.

.

ash-eater n joe =ash-cat 3. 1977

Adams

.

Lang. Railroader, Ash eater:

convl.

DARE (Qu.

outbuilding for ashes and other refuse. 1807 Irving Salmagundi 4.53, He once shook down the ash-house by an artificial earthquake, and nearly blew his sister Barbara and her cat, out of the window with thundering power. 1922 (1926) Cady Rhymes VT Other 1969 DARE (Qu. M22, 38. Our ashhouse got to smoking. kinds of buildings on farms around here) Inf PA230, Ash-house. .

A

fireman.

F12) Inf CT1

1,

Asher

['aes>].

Empty the

asher [FW:

have

five

.

.

ash-leach n =ash-hopper la. 1906 Pocumluc Housewife 47,

asher n =ashpan. 1968

An

In the spring

when the ash hole is cleared

or six bushels of ashes put in the ash leach.

.

ash maple

.

aside

/

96

ash maple n Also freq ash-leafed maple, ashleaf~, ash-leaved ~; occas ash, maple ash, maple; rarely ashfork maple, ashwood chiefly east of the

=box

Missip

R

.

Botkin Treas. Railroad Folkl. 307, Had no ash pan on the no smokestack. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. F12, The flat metal piece below a wood-burning stove, to catch the ashes) 372 Infs, widespread, but esp Nth, Midi, Ashpan. 1

925 in

1

95.3

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

1

.

.

—

1

like the red.

ashpit n chiefly Nth

A

hole or receptacle used for the collection of ashes. Cf ashpan 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Farmers' Bulletins No. 1 37 1 In the front grate bars may be provided and an excavation made for an ash pit where the ashes accumulate [in maple sugar production]. 1947 PADS 8.4 VT [Maple Sugar Language], Ash pit ... A part of the furnace where the ashes accumulate. 1947 Washington Post (DC) 13 Jan B 1/6 (Hench Coll.), When it [=the fire in a locomotive] is "cleaned," it is about the same as cleaning your own furnace. All this goes on over what is called the "ash pits." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. F12) 16 Infs, chiefly Nth, Ashpit. ,

ashpit engineer n

Among railroad 1977

Adams

workers: see quot.

Lang. Railroader

(usually the fireman)

ash nan n Also ash nanny

SC

ashcake made with biscuit dough. 1954 PADS 21.20 cnSC, Ash Nanny Biscuit dough cooked on a board before the open fire. 1966 DARE Tape SC14, Mix the flour in this paper and open the ashes and put 'im in and cover 'im up with the ashes and take 'im out and wash 'im in water and they come a nice bread as they ever want to eat, aashnan['ashn«n]. 1966 DAREFW Addit SC, Ash nan [ais nasn] ashy bread. .

.

.

.

.

—

1/3, Such persons as are desirous of contracting for White Pine Masts, Yards and Bowsprits, Lathwood, Ash Oak Rafters, &c. 1968 DARE (Qu. T10, Kinds of oak .

.

ash pone n [ash Midi, esp

VA

=ashcake

1.

+

.

al89G (1944) Robinson Hist. Morrill 32 csME, The houses contained three fireplaces, an oven, and an ash oven, with flues large enough for a boy to go up through. .

in

1

1

—

—

.

ash snake n =blue racer

Irish

Midi Cf all how

A

Coluber constrictor flaviventris).

(here:

1930 Copeia 85, The White-spotted Phase of the Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris This phase is known locally as ) in Louisiana the ash snake The name refers to its appearance The mark.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

may consist of white scales sparsely and irregularly interspersed among the normally colored scales or white scales may be very ings

=asBl.

&

Weekly Advt. (Philadelphia PA) 16 May 1, He said as how it was his opinion. This absurd pleonasm is more common in Britain than in America. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 16 sIN, I think if he'd a fired his own gun as how he mought a come out even. 1870 Harte Luck Roaring Camp 50 CA, The doctors came and said as how it was caused all along of his way of life. 1911 DN 3.537 eKY, As how ... "I heard as how there was a quarrel." 1916 ZW4.286 s Appalachians, Dock tuck it ez how Flim had slandered him. 1918 DN 5.20 NC. 1949 Dean Diamond Bess 14, Just across the border here into Texas, the folks figured as how it was the thing to do to join the Union. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.516, As how Illiterate. That, whether

PA

chiefly Sth,

batter]

824 Knight Letters 78 VA, What slaves I have seen, have fared coarsely upon their hoe-cakes and ash-pone. 1946/}^D55.9 VA. 1949 Kurath WordGeog. Fig 19, [Of 10 instances of ash pone, 1 is from SC, 3 from NC. 6 from VA]. cl950 LANCS Checklists seWI, cnIL, Ash pone corn bread made in ashes. 1970 DARE (Qu. H14, Bread that's made with cornmeal) Inf VA74, Ash pone cooked in ashes old-fashioned. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 44 Sth, A special kind of corn bread baked in the ashes is known in descending order of preferences as ash cake, ash pone, and ash bread.

1816

ash potato See

ash oven n

1781

pone cake of cornmeal

.

CT2, Ash oak.

chiefly Sth,

Any workman

Ash-pit engineer:

8,

services engines, especially at division points

—

ash oak n, also attrib Perh =gray oak 1 1771 NHGaz. & Hist. Chron. 30 Aug

as how conj phr

who

and terminals.

An

trees) Inf

ing stove. engine, no pilot,

elder.

1765 (1942) Bartram Diary of a Journey 28, Below ye falls is very rich Ash hicory ash leaved maple. 1834 5. Lit. low land produceing Messenger 1 .98 VA, MD, On emerging from the wilderness, the customary variety of oak, ash maple and hickory presents itself. 1868 IL State Ag. Soc. Trans, of 1866 6.390, The Box Elder of our river bottoms comes Ash Leaf Maple. 1897 Sudworth back to us under the name of Maple (Cal.). 1900 Lyons Arborescent Flora 292, Common Names Ash-leaved Maple, Maple Ash. Plant Names 1 1 AfcerJ Negundo 1950 WELS Inf, cWI, Box elder— Ash maple; Inf, ceWI, Ash-leafed Other names ..for., box elder) maple. 1 965 - 70 DARE (Qu. T 1 3, 45 Infs, Ash maple; ME8, MA78, VT4, Ashleaf maple; NY227, Ashleaved maple breaks in storms; IL66, IN35, KS7, ME8, MD13, MS47, WI62, Ash; KY94, NC38, PA89, Maple; OH98, Ashfork maple; MS47, Ashwood; (Qu. T14) Infs MA78, VT4, Ashleaf maple; ME8, Ash-leaved maple; SC7, Ash; CT6, Maple ash. 1968 Pochmann Triple Ridge 8 cWI, The ash-leaved maple, or box elder, has no spicy fragrance

A pan under a grate for collecting ashes, esp one in a wood-burn-

Jrl.

1

.

ashpan n widespread,

.

.

.

but esp Nth, Midi ash-box, asher, ash-hopper 2, ashpit

See

.

Map

.

See also

.

numerous and intermixed with

.

variously mottled scales.

ash-spots n pi Cf ashy 2 =goose pimples. 1970

DARE (Qu.

X58) Inf TN52, Ash-spots

.

.

because they leave her

[=Inf] looking ashy. [Inf Black]

ashwood n

See ash maple

ashy adj 1 Very angry,

chiefly Sth, S Midi See also dusty 1846 Porter Quarter Race 45 AL, An the feller got rite ashy 'bout it, but 1891 PMLA 6.172 TN, Ashy is used as a synonym 1 didn't mind him. Angry. 1941 for angry. 1899 ( 1 9 1 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, Ashy LANE Map 472 (Angry) 1 Inf, cRI, Ashy = 'angry,' heard. 1946 PADS Ill-tempered, ill-humored 6.4 eNC (as of 1900-1910), Ashy Common. 1970 DARE (Qu. GG4, Stirred up, angry) Inf VA69, Ashy old-fashioned word. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 40 Sth, Ashy, het up, owly, and wrathy have a limited occurrence. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

2 also ashy-pale: usu of Blacks: Pale as ashes. Cf ash-faced, ash-spots The greyish color of the 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.516, Ashy (pale) Rare. 1970 DARE (Qu. Negro's skin when he is sick or frightened. X58, When you are cold, and little points of skin begin to come on your .

.

—

.

leave her [=Inf] looking ashy. arms and legs) Inf TN52, Ash-spots 1977 Smitherman Talkin 67 [Black], Ashy refers to the whitish coloration of black skin due to exposure to the Hawk (cold and wind). Whites get ashy too, but the whiteness shows up more pronouncedly on blacks due to their darker skin pigmentation. .

.

aside adj Cf side up Settled; arranged; in order.

1894

DN

1.328 cNJ, Aside: used in an expression "Are you aside?"

97

aside

meaning, "Have you your household goods in order after moving?" 1932 Smiley Gloss. NewPaltz seNY, "Put a house or room aside" means Mr. Beebe has heard those of Dutch to put it in order, straighten it up .

ancestry use

it

New

in

.

.

Paltz.

a

Side-saddle. rode aside.

1818 Fessenden Ladies Monitor 171 VT [In list of provincialisms to be Ax'd for asked. 1829 Kirkham Engl. Grammar 192 NEng, I axt him for't, and he sade no. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69 [In list of Provincialisms to be avoided], Axd, for asked. 1901 DN 2.181 KY [Black]. Asked axt. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 5, Those

see also

prep

[a

la

1

+

side;

OED

1615 —"Still in Sc":

EDD, SND] WI

1838 (1925) Kemper Trip

have a 437 NY, The Stockbridges 1855 (1856) Kane Arctic Explor. .

.

reservation aside of the Brothertowns.

We

mere carpet-knights aside of these indomitable savages. 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 325 SC, Does you want me to lay aside you on de bed an' warm you, son? 1968 DARE (QR, near Qu. 7) Inf PA 150, Sit aside of each other. 1970 Bullins Electronic 109 NEast [Black], All he's doin' is peein' aside the pole. 1976 Garber Mountain.

.

are

MM

1

ese 4 sAppalachians, In the classroom the boys were often seated aside the

girls.

still b Prone [aest]. Pronc-sp ast [OED "Already in 15th c now chiefly Sth, Midi esp among current dialectally."] speakers with less than coll educ (where [aest] survives in pres) 1890 DN 1.6 cNY, [aest] asked. 1892 DN 1.237 MI, Asked. is almost universal but [aest] = 'ask' is rare ast = 'asked' is [aest] common in New England. 1903 DN 2.290 Cape Cod (as of 1905 DN 3.69 nwAR. 1906 DA' 3.1 15 1850s). Ibid 2.305 seMO. sIN. 1908 DN 3.287 eAL, wGA. 1952 Brown AC Folkl. 1.516, Ast General. Older Present, past tense, and past participle [aest] persons: educated and uneducated. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms almost invariably use the same form 5, Those who use the present ast .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Forms. 1 pres: usu ask [aesk]; also: a [asks]. Pronc-spp ax, axe [OE ascian, acsian: see

.

OED ask,

.

.

Pronc-sp ast chiefly Sth, Midi esp among speakers with less than coll educ 1890 DN 1.67 KY, Many do not say ask, but ast [aest]; as "Ast me is very nothing about it." 1893 Shands MS Speech 18, The form ast common. 1894Riley,4w3azzWy31 IN,Gran'pap'udallushaftoast 1905 DN 3.69 nwAR. 1953 Atwood / "How did you rest, last night?" Survey of Verb Forms 5, The present ast /aest/ is scattered through the M[iddle] Atlantic] S[tates] (except N.Y. and n.N.J.) and the S[outh] Atlantic] S[tates], reaching something like concentration in s.N.J. and n.e.N.C. Nearly one sixth of the Eastern informants use this form. 1958 Humphrey Home from the Hill 40 TX, Good snipe day today if you ast me. 1968 DARE Tape VA2, They was ['aestm] me. [aest].

.

.

—

occas considered an affected prone 1891 PMLA 6.163 WV, The sound of a in father (mid-back-wide) is also very common in words like ask, demand, pass. 1892 DN 1.226 NEng, While usually in New England words like ask, pass are pronounced with [a], nearly all the children in the Boston schools now say [aesk], [pass]. 1926 AmSp 2.129 GA [Alteration of pronunciation among language-conscious students], Ask, from [aesk] to [ask]. 1930 AmSp 5.325, [a] is used by some speakers in America, chiefly in the East, as a substitute for either [ae] or [a] in such words as ask, last, path. Ibid 340 eMA, Speakers educated in Newburyport schools, at Tufts, Harvard, and Boston University There is an extremely front, clear [a] in asked, aunt, can't. 1931 AmSp 6.166 seVA, [a] or [a] occurs also in answer, last, ask. 1943 LANEMaps3. 559-561 NEng, [Maps show [aesk] to be most common prone throughout NEng; occas [ask, ask], esp eNEng; less freq [aest]; rarely [aeks].] c [ask, ask],

chiefly East

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

d Other forms. 1937 AmSp 12.288 nwVA, [Black], [k]

3.561

is

[orsk] for ask.

usually omitted from ask

nwMA, What do you

2 past, past pple

ask [hwa df ja

.

.

1941 [ae-s].

.

.

.

.

.

NM

FL4, 1 0, 1 1 22, 28, 30, 36, MS69, 1 1 OK6, 20, 52, UT3, Ast. [Of 14 Infs, 13 have less than coll educ] 1975 Allen .L46 Af2.79ceMN, selA, sw, scNE, The preterite appears as ast /aest/ in the speech four in Tvpe I [=oldest informants], one in Type II, and one in tvpe of ,

,

r

formerly esp NEng, now chiefly Sth, Midi 1789 Webster Dissertations Engl. Lang. 386, This word to ax is still frequent in New England. 1815 Humphreys Yankey in England 103 [Glossary of Provincialisms] NEng, Ax, ask. 1836 (1955) Crockett Almanacks 5 1 wTN, He went all around to the parents of the children to ax them for their custom. 1893 Shands MS Speech \%,Ax [aeks]. Negro for ask. 1901 DN2. 1 8 1 KY [Black], Ask ax. 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 1 cPAMts(asofcl900),/lxe— toask. 1942 Faulkner Go Down 148 MS, Dat's all she axes: just left" her look at you. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 5, The present form ax /aeks/ does not occur north of the Pa.-Md. boundary, and is found only at a few isolated points in W. Va., Md., and Va In N.C. this form becomes much more common, reaching considerable concentration in the western one fourth of the state, where nearly all of the Type I informants use it. 1974 Fink Mountain Speech 1 wNC, eTN, You ax him. .

.

DARE (Qq. 009a, b: total Infs questioned, 75) .

etym note]

.

1965-66

Infs

A

.

MA

as a preterite.

ask v

b

use the present ax nearly always inflect it regularly (i.e., /aekst/). Ibid 6, Ax and axed are almost exclusively Type I forms. 1966 (Qq. 009a, b; total Infs questioned, 75) Inf MS44, Axed. .

Beside.

2.24,

.

who

DARE

prep

(of)

Midi

chiefly Sth,

[aeks] survives in pres)

.

1976 Garber Mountain-eseA sAppalachians, In the early days the ladies allers

at the switch

avoided].

aside adv

aside

asleep

now

Pronc-spp ax'd, axed, axt

[aekst].

(where

/

AmSp 16.13 eTX 1943 LANE Map

'aes]?

(note: with few exceptions, attested instances

of past pple forms are identical to past forms for the same speaker): usu asked [aeskt]; also:

.

.

.

III.

Midi

chiefly

c [aesk].

esp

among

speakers with less than coll

educ

DN 3.69

nwAR, Ask 'I ask him yesterday about it.' 1930 csOH, Asked is [aesk]. 1939 AmSp 14.126 neTN. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 5, The leveled combination ask: ask occurs in a very scattered way in Pa. and Md., and becomes fairly common in Va., where more than one fourth of the noncultured informants use it. It is also in use, though less commonly, in N.C. and "He S.C. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965-66 DARE (Qu. 009a, won't tell me even though I've him many times."; total Infs questioned, 75) 14Infs, Ask;(Qu.009b "Today I'm going to ask him the same question I him yesterday. ") 1 6 Infs, Ask. 1 5 Infs have 1905

AmSp

.

.

.

5.349

.

.

.

.

[

less

than

coll

educ]

d Other forms. 1941 AmSp 16. 1 3 eTX [Black], Asked, [aexs]. 1952 Brown AT Folkl. Rare. 1.516 c,eNC, Asted Past tense and past participle of ask Illiterate. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 5, There are four instances of the leveled combination ax: ax. .

B 1

.

.

.

.

.

Senses.

To

say, speak, or

tell;

in

phr ask a blessing and van. to pray

for.

1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 270 Sth, To ax one howdy an' spon' howdy to exchange salutations. 1893 Shands MS Speech 18, Ask a blessing .. used by illiterate whites requesting one to ask the blessing, or saygrace. 1940inl944/lZ)Z)37seWV,IaxthimIwouldn'tgo. l941Hall

=

.

Coll.

wNC,

'Ask the blessing.'

into, out of: To wheedle, cajole. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 27 FL, She turned on him. "Meat now, and none this winter." "I'll ask the Forresters out of a sow," Penny said. Ibid 102, "Do you ever ask your Ma into leavin' you have sich as that [a bear cub]," Penny told him, "you belong to git one young enough to train

2

foil

by prep, as

easy."

askeared, askeerd, askeered See ascared

asleep adj [Transf from naut use: OED asleep 5, 1867] Of inanimate things: motionless, inactive. Sails are asleep when 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Asleep filled with wind so as not to move ... A top is asleep when turning .

rapidly

.

on the peg without wabbling.

asleep at the switch adj Inattentive; not mindful of one's duties or surroundings. 1914 DN 4.2 19, The net player was asleep at the switch and never saw the return. 1927 AmSp 2.255 [Baseball Slang], To be "caught have reference to a runner 1939 Gardner DA. Draws 205 (DAS), [He] wasn't asleep at the switch. 1950 WELS (Very tired) 1 Inf, Not very ceWI, Asleep at the switch. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. HH13, asleep" retired

.

.

or caught "asleep at the switch"

.

.

from a base by a quick throw.

.

.

a

aslew

ass deep

/

98

") 1 1 Infs, chiefly aware of things: "He's certainly Nth, West, Asleep at the switch; (Qu. JJ30a, Expressions for forgetting something) Inf MD16, Guess I was asleep at the switch. 1966 Barnes- Jensen Diet. UT Slang 4, We nearly caught those melon stealers but Jake was asleep at the switch.

alert or not

.

.

asphalt arab n humorous or derog

A 1 1

aslew adv

[a

+ slew,

prep la 1

turn, twist

CfASMMB

1873—]

(OED slew sb. 2 EDD );

1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Aslew

.

.

.

Askew; diagonally;

one-sided.

asmart See ass-smart

TX

lump

—

DARE [ffisp];

(Qu. R21,

TX27, Asp

.

quot 1982.

Stinging insects) Infs TX12, 73, Asp;

.

—

furry, stings

—

many

times, raises large

—

—

|3'spaer(9)graes,

Pronc-spp

infl

esp

NYC, nNJ,

fspargss,

a'spsegarasl

la'spaeragas, a'speragasl also,

occas joe;

-gras|

also

by folk-etym asparagrass, asparagrus, aspare-

guts, aspargus, asper-grass, aspirin grass, spar'gus

[See

OED

asparagus etym note: aphet forms were the earliest in English and are still current] See also sparrow grass and DS 129 A Forms. 1931-33 LANE Worksheets Providence RI, Asparagus [a'spaera'grss]. 1950 WELS,

csWI, Asper-grass, aspirin grass, asparagrus [aspargras]; 1 Inf, ceWI, [a'spaeragraes] [used by] most even one around here. 1966 Wilson Coll. csKY, Asparagus ['spargas]. We had spar'gus. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. 129, Names or nicknames for asparagus) Infs

1

Inf,

.

C027, NY45,

.

—

.

.

57, 61, 65, Asparagrass [a'spaeragras];

MD14,

NJ37, 46, Asparagrus [a'spaeregras]; GA75, Aspargus; IA32, Aspareguts. 1983 DARE File csWI (as of c 1940), Asparagus was often pronounced [a'spaegaras].

B

Among loggers:

see quot. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 4 Pacific NW, Asphalt logger a. One who prefers town to the woods, b. One who makes big talk in town, small

—

Despite; in spite

A

of.

1943 Writers' Program NC Bundle of Troubles 54, "Feller better git on his way," I 'lows along about this time aspite the rain. aspoil See a inert vowel 5

asp worm See asp assafedity See asafetida

ass around vphr Also~ about [Cf assle var of arsie 3] See also assen around

To

fool around, loiter, waste time. 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 62.8, Gad; wander. Ass about or around. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Ass around: To wander aimlessly. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Assle Fool around, be obviously idle Assing around is apparently the more common local variant. 1969 DARE (Qu.KK3\, "He doesn't have anything to do, so he's just .

.

.

Sense.

.

.

.

.

")

.

Inf CT29, Assin' around.

assassin bug n

A medium

to large-sized, usu black predatory bug of the family Reduviidae. Also called bedbug hunter, big bedbug, cannibal bug, conenose, devil's riding horse, kissing bug, pirate bug, wheel bug. 1895Comstock Manual Insects 37, Family Reduviidae There are many bugs which destroy their fellows, but the members of this family are so pre-eminently predaceous that we call them the Assassin-bugs. 1937 Discovery Dec 368/2, A cheerful brute occurs in North America, where it is known as the "assassin bug." 1968 Wigglesworth Insects 72, Like all bugs the large assassin bug has a powerful salivary pump by means of which it can spit out the saliva as a jet that will carry some 30 cm. 1972 Living Museum 34. 16 IL, The assassin bugs (Order Hemiptera, Family Reduviidae) are a large group which generally feed on the blood of mammals, including man. 1

.

.

.

.

NW, Asparagus — A bundle of

1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific

small logs strapped together to make easier handling between woods and pulp mill. Especially useful when logs are towed, keeps them from

spreading

aspayed

all

over the

river.

vowel

See a inert

aspen poplar n

.

.

A

+ -ify]

upon anybody or anything.

.

verbs argufy

asphalt n

Usu

.

.

,

|'aesfolt|;

temptify,

.

.

asfelt

Std senses, var forms. 1892 DN 1.237 cwMO, MI, Asphalt

ADD Asfelt

cNY, Asphalt .

DARE

.

.

.

['aesfelt,

-oil].

.

.

.

['aesfelt].

1920-40

cl928 Ruppenthal

in

Coll.

1944

KS,

a common pronunciation, by the near-illiterate. 1967-70 (Qu. N21) Inf NY57, ['eaes,fblt]; TN58, 61, ['aeis'folt] [FW: .

—

AL39, GA91, MA36, ['sezfolt]; CT17, NJ3, ['aes.felt]; TN47, [aesfbt]; ALIO, 12, ['aesvalt]; AL26, MA42, ['aesfolt]; NY92, equal

stress];

['aezfolt].

.

.

MA

1966

DARE

down flat onto

aspersifyin'.

also I'eaes-, 'aeis-, 'sez-, 'aes-, 'aez-,

Pronc-sp

-felt, -fot, -valt|

Extravagance for backGrant Co. IN Suppl. 2, Ass-backwards ") 1950 WELS ("The truck was coming down the road cwWI, 1 Inf, Ass-backwards. 1965-70 DARE (Qq. MM2, 3) 181 Infs, throughout US, Ass-backwards; C039, 128, NV3, NY1, 241, PA 163, WI77, Ass-backward. 1972 Diet. Contemp. & Colloq. Usage, Vulgar. Reversed; in a confused order or state, as: to Ass backwards have the questions and answers all ass backwards. wards.

.

.

ass-breaker n

AmSp 6.269 KY, Redundant or curiously assorted suffixes occur .

3

Dial.

.

aspersify v [asperse (W3: arch)

in the

DS MM2,

Backwards; in reversed position or confused order. 1937 Hench Coll. VA, I have heard for years in the speech of less polished persons the word assbackwards as in "He put on his pants assbackwards" or "You're doing that job assbackwards." 1943 McAtee

.

poplars are the chief trees.

sprinkle

.

1

and

al817 (1821) Dwight Travels 1.41, Varieties [of] poplar [are]: White, Aspen, Balsam or Black. 1846 (1848) Bryant What I Saw in CA 147, Groves of small aspen poplars are a great relief to the eye. 1875 Amer. Naturalist 9.203 UT, The prevalent timber growth was made up of interrupted groves of Aspen poplar. 1946 Stan well - Fletcher Driftwood 33 West, On drier, more open ridges, lodge pole pines and aspen

1931

.

.

fussy, back-asswards, bass-ackward(s), half-assed backwards,

=quaking aspen.

asper-grass See asparagus

.

ass-backward(s) adv See also ass-end-to, ass-frontwards, assy1

West

chiefly

.

.

1

In logging: see quot.

To

asphalt logger n Cf asphalt arab

aspite prep

very dangerous to children found on ash trees; TX40, Asp woolly worm, gets on trees, very poisonous; TX33, Aspworm; (Qu. R9a) Inf TX17, Asp— poisonous sting; TX91. [aesp]; (Qu. R27) Inf TX39, Asp a hairy, poisonous caterpillar [FW: this is a central Texas usage, not common to High Plains; Inf must have got it from his family.]; TX62, Asps; TX52A, Asp here is a kind of stinging poisonous caterpil1982 NADS Letters TX, Your asp, according to our biology lar. department [Sam Houston State University], is the caterpillar of Xhepuss moth, the hairs of which make a really bad sting.

asparagus n Usu

citified person. 950 W ELS (A country person 's names and nicknamesfor a city person) Inf, cWI, Asphalt arab.

aspirin grass See asparagus

caterpillar with stinging hairs: see

1967-70 TX9, Asp

and asphalt

work on the job.

asp n Also ~ worm

A

DS HH2

Cf

logger

(Qu. EE29,

When swimmers

the water, that's a

)

are diving and one comes Inf MA6, Ass-breaker.

ass-buster n =ass-ripper. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Ass-buster: A dive in which the diver holds his nose, jumps, and hits the water arse-first.

ass deep adj phr In var humorous phrr: exceptionally deep. 1960 Leckie March to Glory 217 [American soldiers

as of 1950], The snow is ass-deep to a man in a jeep. 1967 DARE FW Addit WA, Snow was ass deep to a tall Indian 1 974 Widener N. U.K.E.E. 153, Drake was .

assed up

99

now tall

floundering around the Alaskan wilderness in snow, ass-deep to a

breech advanced; backwards.

moose.

assed up

")

adj

MM3,

Cf£>5GG2

—

MD

[Johns Hopkins Jargon], Assed up mixed 1932 AmSp 7.329 1942 Berrey-Vanden Bark Amer. Slang 5.5, Disorderly; In Confu-

up.

sion

.

.

.

(all)

assed up.

assembly n somewhat

("She had her dress on 1965-70 DARE (Qu.

.

.

Infs, chiefly

1

assessment work n

chiefly

West

Work done on

old-fash

A gathering of persons for purposes of social entertainment, spec a dance party. 1767 (tide) An Address to Persons of Fashion, concerning frequenting 1891 Welch of Plays, Balls, Assemblies, Card-Tables, &c. (DAE). Recoil. Buffalo 38 1 nwNY, The leading young men in society during these later years of the decade of the thirties, inaugurated a series of "Assemblies" (dancing parties) of six, sometimes seven each winter, which continued far into the forties. 1899 (1912) Green VA FolkSpeech, Assembly ... A subscription ball. 1926 AmSp 1.391 IA, The name is laudatory, facetious, or critical rather than definitive. Ball for the ceremonious, h op for the informal an assembly for a dancing school, a shindig for rowdies. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. FF4, Different kinds of dancing parties) Inf MA73, Assemblies; 1 1 Assemblies in a hired 1967 LeCompte Word Atlas 277 seLA, Large hall. [Both Infs are old] country dance which all the members of the family attend assembly. .

Ass-end-to.

") "This is thefront, you've got the whole thing turned Nth, Ass-end-to; CT36, Arse-end-to. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 69% were comm-types 4 and 5; of those giving this response, 90% were comm-types 4 and 5.]

2

Confused; mixed up.

WELS

1950

cwWI,

Inf,

1

assign

/

.

.

ME

.

—

,

.

assemblyman n Also 'semblymen

a mining claim to maintain a possessory title. 1877 U.S. Treas. Dept. Mines 193 NV, Most holders having contented themselves with doing the "assessment-work." 1901 White Claim Jumpers 23 (DAE), He did not see why they even did the assessment work. 1947 Peattie Sierra Nevada 263 SW, Preferably it [=his claim] was along the creek, not too far away, and under an oak to shade him while he did the "assessment work" on it that would renew his title for another year. 1968 Adams Western Words, Assessment work In mining, the annual labor required to hold a claim; the work necessary to maintain title to an unpatented mining claim in the public domain.

—

ass from one's elbow, not to know one's v phr Also arse ~ asshole ~ chiefly N Atl urban See Map For non-regional varr see DS JJ 1 5b To be ignorant; not to possess the most rudimentary knowledge. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. JJ15b, Very stupid: "He doesn't know .

")

.

.

[Perh from the coloration

22 Infs,

to the question,

7% were comm-type

were comm-type from he elbow.

suggestive of an assemblyman's formal dress] =white-winged scoter.

.

N Atl, His ass from his elbow. [Of all Infs responding

1

.];

Inf RI 1

7,

of those giving this response, 50% 1 His arse from his elbow; SC 10, He asshole ;

1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 99, At Crisfield, Md., Assemblyman known as White-wing also), the species being commonly referred to, singly or collectively, as 'Semblymen. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.150, White-winged Scoter Other Names Eastern White-wing; Assemblyman. (though

.

assen around v phr [Prob ass v

+

.

.

.

-en var of -ing

DJEfishening, icening; see also -en suff

.

.

+ around: cf

1

]

=ass around. 1966

DARE (Qu.

A9,

.

Wasting time by not working on the job) Inf

.

SCI 9, Loafing and assening around.

ass end n

Nth

chiefly

The back end;

the buttocks. 1942 McAtee Dial Grant Co. IN Suppl. I, Ass end foremost backwards. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Ye ass end's a-draggin. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K73, The rump of a cooked chicken) Infs MA6, MI8, ORB, WI40, Ass end (of a chicken); (Qu. A 18, A very slow person) Inf CT7, Ass-end looping; (Qu. W24b) Inf NY 10, Ass-end upward; (Qu. .

.

.

.

.

.

X50) Inf WI12, Four

feet across the ass

MM3,

turned

Inf

")

.

.

"This

is

ass-

thefront, you've got the whole thing

NY7, Ass-end-backwards.

ass-end-to adv phr Also arse-end-to

Map Cf back-end-to,

know one's

+

varr

end.

ass-end-backwards adv phr [Blend of ass-end-to and backward(s)] 1961 DARE (Qu.

•ass from one's elbow, not to (Qu. JJ15b)

.

chiefly

tass-frontwards adv =ass-backward(s). 1967

DARE (Qu. MM3) Inf MA71,

Ass-frontwards.

asshole n West

Nth

rural

See

hindside-to

Backwards; in reversed position or confused order. 1943 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN Suppl. 2, Ass end to

.

.

,

with the

In logging: a kink in the logging cable. 1959 AmSp 34.77 nCA, Asshole ... A kink in a Western Words.

line.

asshole for a hobby-horse n For varr see quot

A

non-existent item

—

in phrr

1968

Adams

CfD5NN12a,b

used to distract a bothersome or

inquisitive child. 1 966 - 68 DARE (Qu. NN 2b, Things that people say to put off a child when he asks, "What are you making?") Inf WI48, Assholes for hobby1

horses; IN45,

wooden

A wooden

asshole for a hobby-horse;

ND1,

Whittlin' a

asshole for merry-go-round horses.

asshole from one's elbow, not to know one's See ass from

know

one's elbow, not to

asshorance Pronc-sp

one's

for assurance

DN

3.287 eAL, wGA, Assurance asshorance of a brass monkey."

1908

assign v

To

[OED

assign v

IV— 1633]

Cf insurance A, B .

.

.

[ae'sorans].

Sth

"He's got the

obs

sign.

1837 Sherwood Gaz.

GA

69 [In list of provincialisms to be avoided], convey away property; sign is merely to write is in the the name. 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 580, Assign South used by illiterate persons and by an astounding number of men

Assign, for sign; assign

is

to

.

.

)

assimilate

ast

/

100

who ought to know better, instead of sign.

"I will assign the paper,

sir,

as

" (Southern Literary messenger, Sepsoon as you bring it to me quot not foundl.) tember, 1849 [sic .

.

.

—

assimilate v Usu |9'sim3le(i)t|, occas simulate See Prone Intro 3.1.23

|3'simjule(i)t|

Pronc-sp as-

DN

Frequent for assimilate. 1914 3.541 NE, Assimulate 1911 4.166 NE, A change of medial unaccented [a] to [ju] ... is sometimes heard in assimulate for assimilate. 1944 in 1944 ADD sWV, AssimuUsual with 1 educated speaker. late .

.

.

.

.

.

joe CfD5'W42a, b man's sharply pointed shoe. A shoe, esp a 1968-70 DARE (Qu. W42a, Nicknames for men's sharp-pointed

ass-kicker

.

.

W42b,

.

.

shoes.

See also ass-licker, ass-sucker, ass-

A

II20a,

A

person who

"He's an awful

else's favor:

")

hard to gain somebody

tries too

Inf GA6, Ass-kiss [laughter].

assle See arsle

dive in which the diver strikes the water buttocks-first. DARE (Qu. EE29) Infs AL41, MSI, Ass-ripper.

ass-side-before adv phr Var of hind-side-before

DARE(Qu. MM2,

1969

One who

ass-kisser]

Cf

ass-

Sth, ")

chiefly Sth,

Midi

Midi,

Inf

(Qu.

Ass-licker;

PA39, Be an

1119, .. "I'd

rather quit

than

homosexual man. 1969 DARE (Qu. HH39)

A

Usu la.sosi'esan, sosation Cf 'sociate

3,sosi'es3n|

Pronc-spp as-so-sa-

ass-smart n Also arse(s)mart, arsmart, asmart smarting pain

1874 Taylor World on Wheels 141 NY, But Elder Peck never could say "Association." You can shut your eyes and hear him: "the brethren of the As-so-sa-shun will please to give their attention." 1891 PMLA 6. 67 WV, Gradjate and sosation are vulgarisms. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. transcribed on the Speech 66 eTN, wNC, Association [3,so'seiS3n] speech-record of an aged man. 1

.

religious gathering: see quots. [Cf DAE association of clergymen] 1824 Baptist Missionary Mag. 4.242/2 NEng, Our present system of

annual Associations, is capable of being made to answer all the purposes which ought to be attempted by any system of ecclesiastical polity. 1948 Times -Dispatch (Richmond VA) 31 Mar 7/4 (Hench Coll.) neMS, There used to be a Primitive Baptist Church beside the cemetery and each year the congregation held an "association." The meeting would last from Friday through Sunday. On the final day "they held a foot-washing." .

.

.

ass-over-teakettle adv phr For van see quots See also aceover-apex, ass up to teacup, dolly-over-teakettles Arsy-versy, head-over-heels, topsy turvy. 1899 ( 1 9 1 2) Green VA Folk-Speech 69, Ass over head. Head over heels; topsy-turvy. 1943 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN Suppl. 2, Ass over appetite (applecart or endways) head over heels. 1958 Humphrey Home from the Hill 127 TX, Miz Missouri staggers back and the little boy goes ass-over-teakittle. 1967 DARE FW Addit neNY, Ass-overapplecart or ass-over- tin cup when you fall over or get knocked over. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. EE9a) Inf MD29, Summersault, ass-over-tin cup [laughter]; (Qu. Yl, .A person suddenly falling down) Inf CA120, Ass-over-appetite. 1979 Stegner Recapitulation 21 UT, The sidewalks had been encumbered with planters, fountains, flower urns God pity the woman who window-shopped as she walked. Ass over teacup into a fountain or a bed of golardias [sic]. 1

.

.

—

+

[ass

smart

»]

A

smartweed: usu a water pepper but also lady's thumb. 1640 Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum 857 VA, Sharpe Arsmart of Virginia Shrub Spotted Arsmart of Virginia with white flowers. 1792 Imlay Western Terr. 208 KY, Of herbs, we have of the wild sort, dock, asmart, glass-wort, hellebore. 1805 (1905) Lewis Orig. Jrls. Lewis & Clark Exped. 6 All Upper MW, The Ass smart is also found in the Same neighborhood. 1830 Rafinesque Med. Flora 66, The Polygonum persicaria (called Asmart, Smartweed, and Water-pepper). 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 5, Arsmart, Smartweed, Polygonum hydropiperoides. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 300, PfolygonumJ Hydropiper Arse-smart. 1968 Yankee April 20, Arsemart has defied me. This most expressive name could not have referred to either nettles or smartweed as neither was used as a medicinal. 1969 DARE (Qu. S2 Inf NJ56, Ass-smart. Same as smartweed. Pull up that to wipe your backside you'll jump and holler after a bit. 1971 Krochmal Appala.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

Med. Plants 204, Polygonum hydropiper Marshpepper, smartweed, arsmart Herb ...

chia

.

been used

.

.

.

.

A

.

Common diuretic

names

and has

in certain uterine disorders.

curries favor; a toady. 1943 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN Suppl. 2, Ass-sucker toady. 1967 DARE (Qu. II20a) Inf M02, Ass-sucker.

.

.

bootlicker,

Presumption. 1940 Sun (Baltimore

MD) 4 Apr 10/7 (Hench Coll.), Turning away from the Civil War, however, I call it what the Tarheels term "assumacy" for a North Carolinian to raise the question of Maryland's status. ass-up n Also ass-up-a-tree Also sp arce-up, arse-up

A

nuthatch. a!870 Chipman Notes on Bartlett 2 (DA), Arse-up. Small slate-colored woodpecker; so named from its facility and habit of running upward upon a tree's trunk while its head is lower than its tail. Local in Connecticut. 1945 McAtee Nomina Abitera 42, 1 have a term variously spelled arce-up, arse-up, the application of which to these upsidedown birds [nuthatches (Sitta)] is obvious. 1950 WELS (Insect-eating bird that goes head first down a tree) 1 Inf, cWI, Ass-up. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. Q23) Infs IN 18, 80, MI42, NJ39, WV14, Ass-up; Mil 16, .

.

.

2 In all directions, confusedly. 1969 DARE (Qu. "He shot into a flock of birds and they 12a, ") Inf PA209, Every whichaway, ass-over-tin cups. went

MM

.

.

.

Ass-up-a-tree.

ass up

to v phr [Perh

from

Cf DS II20a,

kiss ass]

b,

A.K. v

To

curry favor with. 1970 DARE (Qu. II20b, Inf IL 139, Ass up to.

±ass up

to

.

.

"He's always trying to

ass-wiper n Also ass-wipe NEast

One who

the boss.

")

teacup adv phr Cf ass-over-teakettle

Completely, thoroughly, "from head to toe." 1967 DARE FW Addit si A, He was soaked ass up

to teacup.

Cf ass-licker, A-wiper

curries favor; a toady.

1967-69 DARE (Qu. II20a, A person who tries too hard to gain somebody else's favor) Infs MA53, NY1, VT16, Ass-wiper; (Qu. II20b) ") InfNY70, Boss's ass-wipe; (Qu. II 19, "I'd rather quit than .

.

.

—

1

la, society

.

1551

.

B Sense. An annual

.

OED arsesmart

assumacy n

Forms.

.

")

One who Inf GA84, Ass-licker.

association n shun,

"Look, you've got your dress on

ass-sucker n

ass-licker.

A

2

.

1

curries favor; a toady,

1939 Miller Tropic of Capricorn 18 NYC, Besides, I wasn't a good ass-licker. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Ass-licker. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. II20a, A person who tries too hard to gain somebody else's favor) 1 6 Infs, chiefly

.

Inf IN61, Ass-side-before.

.

common

ass-licker n [By analogy with wiper 1

—

1965-68

.

curries favor; a toady.

DARE (Qu.

1966

poot]

—

.

|ass-kiss n [ass-kisser] wiper

One who

+

.

PA244, TX54, Ass-kickers; PA237, Ass-kicker shoes [laughMen's square-toed shoes) Inf OK57, Ass-kicker

shoes) Infs

(Qu.

buttocks

n, also attrib

.

ter];

pi [ass

Beans. 1968 DARE (Qu. 118) Inf MD37, Navy beans, white beans, soup beans same thing; ass-poots ['aes.puts] the slang term.

ass-ripper n See also ass-breaker, ass-buster

Std senses, var forms.

DN

ass-poots n

Inf

MA35, Be an

ass-wiper; (Qu.

.

HH43b)

Inf MA35, Ass-wiper.

lassy-fussy adv [Alter of arsy-versy (OED, OEDS, 1539—)]

Cf ass-backward(s) Backside foremost; in reverse position. 1967D/l/?£'(Qu. MM3, "This is thefront, you've got the whole thing ") Inf OH29, Assy-fussy. turned .

ast See ask v Alb, 2b

.

.

astamagootis

101

astamagootis n [Du

A

maar goed is!:

als het

see quots]

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

ations with

chihuahua is known as the 'asthma dog' or the medicinal dog.] 1966 Wilson Coll. csKY, Asthma dog A Mexican hairless or other dog that one sleeps with as a cure for asthma. [1968 DAREFW Addit TNI 7, 17A, Buy a chihuahua and let it sleep with an asthmatic. The dog will breathe the "asthmy" out of the person. Infs know three children who have been cured this way.] ico, the

worrywart. 1980 DARE File Grand Rapids MI, A restless astamagootis? Of The term no doubt stems from the Dutch clause "Als het maar course! more freely, "If goed is," literally translated "If it only good is," or only everything is all right." 1980 DARE File CT, IA, A few years ago I was in the midst of an X-raying process when the technician said, "Don't "What did you say?" "Don't be a be a restless astamagootis." restless astamagootis," she repeated. "The only person I ever heard use "I have it from my that expression was my mother, from Iowa." mother, in Connecticut." [1980 NADS Letters IA, My one remaining remembers the word "astamagootis" well, but also has no associaunt restless person,

it.]

—

asthma weed n [From =Indian tobacco

1819 Western Rev. a

.

.

The Lobelia

1.183,

astern adv [Transf from naut use]

NEng

and swelled seed 1900 Lyons Plant Names 228, Asthma-weed Leaves and

vessels.

.

.

.

Astorbilt n [Blend of Astor

—

2 in phrr to go, drop, or fall astern:

1975 Gould

.

To

lose ground,

Regress. "People go astern

ME Lingo

fail.

they are,

1

12,

A

when

things

is

too easy."

business that drops below last year's

earnings has gone astern.

astern the lighter adj phr Also astern of ~ [See quot 1916] coastal NEng, esp Nantucket derog See also behind the lighter Tardy, behind, laggardly. 1891 Maitland Amer. Slang Diet., Astern of the lighter, behind hand. 1916 Macy-Hussey Nantucket Scrap Basket 124, "Astern the Lighter" Tardy, lagging behind; a lighter being a slow-moving craft used for transferring cargo, to be "astern the lighter" is to be rather a laggard, and the term is used in a contemptuous sense, as "Oh, he's always astern the lighter!" 1942 ME Univ. Studies 56.24, A local Nantucket expression, astern the lighter, meant literally to be too late for the lighter, or boat that went off to a ship anchored in the harbor. [Footnote:] Fig. Tardy, belated. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 118, Nantucket has a rather incomprehensible term meaning belated astern the lighter. "You're

—

—

astern the lighter a'ready with

all

your garden chores."

as the feller says adv phr For varr see quots chiefly NEng, S Midi As they say used as a formula to introduce proverbial wisdom

—

or lore, or to apologize for a cliche. 1885 Cable Dr. Sevier 400 TN, "That's a trick!" said the man. "Thanks, as the felleh says." He looked to Mary for her appreciation of his humor. Ibid4\ 1, She wants some more buttermilk If she don't drink it the pigs'll git it, as the ole woman says. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 360 sAppalachians, These ridges is might' nigh straight up and down, and, as the feller said, perpendie'lar. 1932 Smiley Gloss. New Paltz NY, Like the fellow says Used in quoting an imaginary person or really an expression of your own which you do not wish to claim credit for as it may be a little beneath you an apology to cover the identity of the author. 1935 Wolfe Of Time 340 NC, "A little breath of fresh air is just the thing we need as the feller says," she said, turning to Eugene now and beginning to laugh slyly. 1949 Hall Coll. eTN. 1951 PADS 15.67 NH. 1975 Gould Lingo 37, As the feller says An expression of disclaimer. The feller has never been identified, but he gets the blame and .

.

2

By

.

—

—

ME

many remarks: "It may rain but, as thefeller says, it may

not."

asthma n Usu

A

a person

who

overdresses.

DARE (Qu. W37) Inf RI1,

All Astorbilt.

astoria See azoturia

+

astorperious adj [Blend of Astor, wealthy American family imperious] Cf Astorbilt, Astor's pet horse 2

Haughty. 1935 Hurston Mules & Men 1 5 1 FL [Black], Aw, gran'pa, don't be so 1942 Hurston in Amer. Mercury 90 NYC [Black], Too blamed astorperious. I j ust don't pay you no mind. Ibid 94 [Glossary of astorperious!

7

Harlem

Slang], Astorperious

— haughty,

biggity.

Astor's pet horse n Also ~ pet cow, ~ pet pony, ~ plush horse Varr of Mrs. Astor's pet horse chiefly Nth Cf Astorbilt 1 usu in compar made-up person.

phrr, esp of

women: An

overly dressed-up or

1 950 H ELS (When a woman puts on her good clothes and tries to look her best) 1 Inf, cWI, Dressed like Astor's plush horse. 1967-69 (Qu. W37. H 'hen a woman puts on her good clothes and tries to look her best) Infs DE2, NY22, (Looks) like Astor's pet horse; MN6, Dressed up like Astor's plush horse; 14, Thinks she's Astor's pet horse; (Qu. W36, A woman who uses a lot of cosmetics) Inf NY206, Looks like Astor's pet cow; (Qu. W38, When a man dresses up in his best clothes) Inf Astor's pet horse; NJ2, Like the Astor's pet pony; (Qu. W40, A woman who overdresses) Inf 14, Astor's pet horse.

DARE

.

MAM, .

MA

.

A self-important person. 1 967 - 69 DARE (Qu. GG 9b.

2

1

Cf astorperious When you can seefrom the way a person

acts that he's feeling important or independent: ")

Inf

"He seems

to think he's

MA 14, Astor's pet horse; NY 12, Astor's pet pony.

astringent root n =cranesbill (here: Geranium maculatum). [1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 2 1 8, The root is the officinal part, and is a pure, pleasant and valuable astringent.] 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 6, Astringent root, Cranesbill, Geranium maculatum. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 134.

Jas was adj phr [By analogy with as is] As it was; without alteration or improvement. 1968Z).LR£(Qu.LL25, "He sold out the whole place PA 175, As was. .

.

")Inf

at prep I'aszmal, also |'aezmi|

Pronc-sp asthmy

Cf-y

Std senses, var forms. 1938 Liebling Back Where 37 seNY, Now there's a tug, puffing like she had the asthmy. 1968 DARE FW Addit TN 1 7A, Asthma ['aezmi].

asthma dog n

"best society" of a community. 1123, Joking names for people who are, or think the best society of a community) 1 4 Infs, chiefly Sth, SW, Midi,

DARE (Qu.

ext:

1969

.

—

credit for a great

names of wealthy Miss Astor, Mr. Astorbilt,

Vanderbilt,

also

Astorbilts.

.

.

.

MA

a-stew See a prep 4 1

.

.

A member of the 1965-70

[1911 Century Diet. 2126/3, To fall astern (naut.), to drop behind.] 1945 Colcord Sea Language 25 NEng, To drift, drop, fall, go, or run, astern means in coastal dialect to fail of success. "I run astern pretty bad last year when the price of potatoes went down." 1974 AmSp 49.62

+

American families] joe See Mrs. Astor's pet horse 1

distance. [Footnote:] Fig. Behind.

.

.

.

1

Behind.

.

.

Emetic, nauseant, expectorant, anti-spasmodic. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 164, Asthma weed The herb yields lobeline sulfate, which is used in anti-tobacco therapy. tops

astink See a prep 4

In the 1916 Macy-Hussey Nantucket Scrap Basket 124, "Astern" rear of, or behind. 1942 ME Univ. Studies 56.24, Astern meant in the direction of the stern but outside the vessel, even at a considerable

ME, Go astern

Asthma weed,

or

inflata

plant with alternate hairy leaves, blue flowers,

astinemia See acetonemia

asteria See azoturia

1

eUS

use as an antiasthmatic]

its

1

.

asted See ask A2d

at

/

[See quots]

chihuahua.

[1953 Tennesseean (Nashville

TN)

18 Jan

6-7 (Hand

Coll.),

In

Mex-

with nouns of place, direction, or time: In. ?old-fash 1636 in 1863 Hist. Soc. Coll. 4th ser 6.515, If Mr. Mayhew hath bought the provisions at the east. 1721 Journals H. Repr. Mass. Ill 94 (DAE), The forces at the eastward are without coverings, and scant of cloathing. 1837 ( 1 924) Higbee Diary 2 1 NJ, Another traveller enlightened us by saying Mrs. Siddons had died at the eastward. 1840 (1934) Boynton Jrl. 347 VT, I have always been well treated as yet wherever I have been at the North. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 28 IN, 1

MA

1

at

102

a-tall

/

As they say at the East. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT, At the south. 1907 ZW3. 208 nwAR,cCT. 1976 Wolfram -Christian Appalachian Speech 128, At the wintertime.

2 In phr sick at one's stomach and varr: in the area of. widespread exc in Nth, though gaining currency throughout US See Map and quots 1949, 1975 See also on, to 906 Essex Inst. Coll. 42.224 MA, I am something better to day 1 731 in than yesterday at my Stomack. 1882 Sweet & Knox Texas Siftings 80 he goes to Col. Andrews for (DAE), When he is sick at his stomach advice. 1949Kurath WordGeog. 7%,Atthestomach'\susua\ina\lofthe South and the Midland and is not uncommon in Greater New York City, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. In the greater part of New England and the rest of the Northern area it is exceedingly rare ... In southern New England and in Greater New York City at is now fairly common among younger and cultured persons. 1 965 - 70 DARE (Qu. BB 6a. If something a person ate didn agree with him, he might be sick his stomach) 408 Infs. widespread exc in Nth, At; DO, DE6. GA59. LA 1 8, 25, 3 40, At the; NV8, At the belly; LA2, At the craw; MO20, At the tummy; (Qu. BB16b) Infs IN54, LA8, OK 18, Sick at his stomach; M039, OH43, Sick at the stomach; CA2 2, Upset at the stomach; (Qu. BB 7), Infs CA209, C033, DE6. GA59, MI62, M029, NJ9, VA42, (Be) Makes me sick at sick at his (or the, your) stomach; (Qu. H69) Inf TX9 1

.

.

1

't

1

,

1

1

1

he's at; (Qu. KK66) Inf NY241, This is where it's (Qu. MM22) Inf CA 177, Where you're at; (Qu. NNlOa) Inf LA37, Where ya at dere? LA45, Where you at? at;

5 Following a verb of action and usu said with extra emphasis to indicate that the action is somewhat ineffective. [OED at prep 17]

949 PADS

1 1 1 7 CO, "To ride at a horse." To try to ride a horse but get 1951 PADS 1 5.52 cnIN, At: adv. Ineffectively. "He washed at the windows." 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, He's working at his books but don't seem to learn much. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H 1 2, If somebody eating a meal takes little bits offood and leaves most of it on his plate, you say he ) Inf CA 1 74, Minces at his food; MI68, Kinda munches at it; OK44, Minces at it; (Qu. K8, Joking terms for milking a cow) Inf IL16, Tug at the cows.

1

.

thrown.

6 With: against. 1933 Miller Lamb in His Bosom 96 GA, She had blamed pore little Cean who had enough to worry over without being quarreled at. 1940 Stuart Trees of Heaven 25 KY, Stop quarrelin at 'im, Ma.

7 In the direction of; to, toward. [OED at 13] 1940 Sat. Eve. Post 23 Nov 101/2 sGA, My dog ain't back. I'm going at him.

,

my stomach; (Qu. II29b) Infs IN45, VA58, Makes me sick at my (or the) 2.64, Data in the U[pper] M[idwest] stomach. 1975 Allen rather rather clearly point to the continuing western extension of to, than of at, which is a feeble minor variant in Minnesota and the Dakotas and even in Midland Iowa and Nebraska barely scrapes up a 50% frequency and that only because of its higher proportion among the

LAUM

.

.

—

less-educated

NY241, Know where

infs.

8 Near, close

to. See also right at 1907 DA 3.228 nwAR, seMO, At. Near. 1969D.4/?£(Qq.X48a,b, Expressions meaning that a person is not so young anymore "She ") Inf KY42, Pushing at; must be sixty." Or, "He's Pushing at seventy. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

9 From, of, through. [OED at prep 10] 1966-67 DARE (Qu. MM8, A bad housekeeper sweeps the dirt either under the rug or the door.) Inf AR31, Out at; (Qu. 18, "Goingfrom the kitchen to the back steps he walked the door. ") InfAR51,Outat.

MM

[Reduced from

at v

to

go

at or similar phr]

obs

To

urge repeatedly. that I must 1837 Smith Col. Crockett's Exploits 33 TN, I soon saw get up and make them a speech. I had no sooner elongated my outward Adam, than they at it again, with renewed vigour. 1873 ( 89 ) Holley My Opinions 206 NY, I atted Josiah to sell the pork and get the money .

.

1

1

for that.

'at

pron. conj See that

SW

[Span hatajo small herd or flock] pack animals. 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 128 NM, Indeed it is apt to occasion much trouble to stop a heavily laden atajo; for, if allowed a moment's rest, the mules are inclined to lie down, when it is with much difficulty they can rise again with their loads. 1892 DA' 1.187 TX, Atajo: a drove

atajo n Also sp hatajo

A •at

prep 2

3 esp after

(Qq. BB16a, b, BB17, H69, Il29b)

listen:

To.

EDD

[Engl dial:

at

IV

chiefly Sth,

1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 275, To lissen at de racket = to hear the 1903 DN 2.305 seMO, Listen at the bird. 1914 DA' 4. 58 VA, Listen at the pop crackers. 1927 Kennedy Gritny 17 sLA [Black], My head feel feev'ish lis'nin' at her. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, "Just listen at that

mule a-braying."

will usually listen at

1

Fairly

common. 1966-68 DARE Tape NC37, 1968 say; IN 14, I listen at the news.

what you

DARE (Qu. HH7a) GA

1976 1 9, Listen at that bird run offat the mouth. VI otfram- Christian Appalachian Speech 128, 1 just go at my uncles and fool around. 1976 DARE File ceIN, Heard from a fortyish white male: "I'll talk at you later." From a twentyish white male: "I'll be talking at

you tomorrow." 4 Used redundantly, usu at the end of a where clause. [EDD at chiefly Sth, Midi informal occasjoc or for II 1, from nwEngl] emphasis 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, At is often used superfluously in and West, as in the question, "Where is he atV 1896 DN 1902 DN 2.228 sIL, Where is he at? 1 .4 1 1 NYC, Where at you goin'? 1903 DN 2.305 seMO. 1906 DN 3.1 15 sIN. 1908 DN 3.287 eAL. 1910 DA' 3.456 KY. 1935 Horwill Mod. Amer. Usage, The Am. jocose 'The business world wants rest. use of a superfluous at is illustrated in 1957 Wyman-Kroeber Frontier 1 86, It wants to know where it is at.' Mencken was nothing if not bold; he had an ax to grind; he enjoyed telling the English where to get off at. 1 965 - 70 DARE (Qu. EE3) Inf KY62, Guess where it's at; (Qu. HH13) Inf MA59, Don't know where he's at; (Qu. JJ 1 5b) Inf MN10, Which end his ass is at: (Qu. JJ17) Inf

the South

.

.

Also a "bunch" of horses, tame or wild, of mules. Ibid 244, Atajo though more generally the latter. 1897 Inman Santa Fe Trail 57, An old-time atajo or caravan of pack-mules generally numbered from fifty to two hundred. 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms, The typical atajo consists of from fifteen to forty animals ... It is particularly useful in mountainous districts and in fact was long the only practical mode of transporting merchandise to and from mining, cattle, and other camps. The word is used commonly in the Southwest. 1968 Adams Western Words, Hatajo ... A train of pack animals. .

3]

Midi noise.

string of

atalked See a inert vowel a-tall 'tall

At

adv Usu

|a'tal, 3'tol|

.

1

infreq

[By metanalysis from at

Pronc-spp a

|'e'tol|

tall, atall,

all]

all.

1908 DA 3.287 eAL, wGA, A-tall ... At all. Sometimes 'tall is heard. at all the stressed word 1927 Shewmake Engl. Prone. VA 44 eVA, In 1930s in 1944 ADD all often attracts t to itself, the result being a tall. nWV, No time atall. 1936 AmSp 1 1.145 eTX, The unstressed vowel at all (a-tall). 1941 AmSp spelled with a is usuallv pronounced [a] 16.8 eTX [Black], At all, [atari]. 1942 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN (as of used intentionally for emphasis, as well 1 890s), A-tall (first "a" long), " 1942 as in normal colloquialism; "That don't worry me 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Warnick Garrett Co. (as of 1 900 - 1 8). Them chillern ain't a'tall good. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, A-tall often heard for at all. 1965 DARE FW Addit wOK, At all [a'tol]. 1976 The a is pronounced like the name of Brown Gloss. Faulkner, A-tall the first letter of the alphabet, and both syllables are stressed. r

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

MD

—

.

.

.

103

at

adv [OED,

all

OEDS all 9b; EDD at V I

In affirmative constrr: of

( 1

at

Midi

chiefly Sth,

)]

DN 4.302 VA, LA, He is the greatest man at all. 1936 AmSp WV, Common use of at all without a negative (We had the best time at all). 1942 AmSp 17.130 IN, She's the finest girl at all. 1945 AmSp 20.15, This affirmative use [of at all] lives on in Irish dialect 1916 1.63

1

.

and

[seven,

.

America, especially

in colloquial speech in certain parts of

after a

'We had the best time at all.' Of my informants, from GA, KY, NC, OK] said that this idiom occurs in their home

superlative, as in

.

.

.

.

and [seven] had heard it outside their home speech areas speech areas in the Midwest, and 3 uncertain of area]. 1976 DARE [3 in the South. File Madison WI (as of 1957), Use one statement at all. .

atamasco

(lily) n [Amer Ind attamusco prob related to Algonquian misk red: see 1907 Hodge Hdbk. Amer. Indians 1.106] 1 =zephyr lily, but esp Zephyranthes atamasco which has white Besides those flowers often tinged with red on the outside. names given under zephyr lily, this species is also called cullowhee and daffodil lily Sth 1629 Parkinson Paradisi 87, Narcissus Virgineus. The Virginia Daffodill The Indians in Virginia do call it Attamusco. Attamusco. some among us do call it Lilionarcissus Virginianus, of the likenesse of the flower to a Lilly and the leaves and roote to a Daffodill. Wee for brevity doe call it Narcissus Virgineus, that is, The Daffodill of Virginia, or else you may call it according to the former Latine name, The Lilly Daffodill of Virginia. 1748 (1754) Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina App 1.12, The Attamusco Lily ... is a native of Virginia and Carolina, where in particular places the pastures are thick sprinkled with them and Martagons. 1848 Gray Manual ofBotany 479, Atamasco Lily Perianth funnel-shaped, white and pink. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 123, On .

.

.

spring,

.

.

the

SE Flora

Atamasco

hammock

lily

.

.

1933 Small Manual

lupine.

320, Atamasco-lilies ... are gathered about Easter time and

cities. 1961 Wills-Irwin Flowers TX 98, Bulbs of nearly all the Rain-lilies and Atamascos are marketed by seedsmen. 1975 Duncan -Foote Wild/lowers SE 262, AlamascoLeaves and especially the bulbs of this species are known to be lily poisonous when eaten.

sold especially in southern

.

.

.

2 =copper

TX

lily.

1946 Reeves- Bain Flora TX 56, Hfabranthus] texanus Yellow Rain Lily, Atamosco [sic] Lily Perianth copper-brown, with stripes .

.

.

.

.

.

of purple.

atarnal, atarnity See eternal, eternity

ataunto adv, adj Also sp

much

(as possible)]

all tanto,

chiefly

N

Atl

atanto

[Ult Fr autant as

old-fash

By ext:

all sails set.

well

and fore-top-sail-yards were in their places, the top-gallant-mast was fitted and, with the exception of the sails, the ship was what is called a-tanto, forward. 1840 Crockett Almanac 10/2 (DAE), I was rigged all-a-tanto. 1845 Knickerbocker 25.424 nwFL, The Boston lay in the stream, with everything 'ataunto,' ready for sea. 1849 (1855) Melville Redburn 210, Some [=ships] had just arrived from the most distant ports, worn, battered, and disabled; others were all a-taunt-o spruce, gay, and brilliant, in readiness for sea. 1905 Wassonin 962 AmSp 37.254 ME, He let her go right under foot, took and snugged up things on deck all tanto, and went below and turned in. 1945 Colcord Sea Language ME, Cape Cod MA, Long Island NY, A-taunto (Pronounced a-tanto). From the French autant, to the full. This originally meant, with masts and spars aloft and 1

fore

.

—

1

fully rigged;

by extension,

in first-class order, but

it

is

rarely heard

nowadays. ate, aten See eat v A3c, d

a'ter See after

1

Inf. [aeOalarz

flit].

Usu

athletic adj

4

.

.

.

.

flit];

l'aeGJit[,

Pronc-sp athelete

freq

occas I'aetJit; See Prone Intro

I'aeOaJitl,

See also athletic

.

.

Inf[£e63kdik'fu3t];

1

1

Inf [eOletik fut].

Delirium tremens. 1970

DARE (Qu. DD22) InfVA73,

BB25)

D.T.'s. athletic

athletic foot n Also athletic(s) feet

fits.

See also athlete('s) feet

Athlete's foot.

1967-70 DARE (Qu. BB25) Inf M05, PA247, Athletics feet.

M09.

Athletic foot;

Athletic

feet;

athwart prep

Pronc-spp a-thaut [Transf from naut use]

NAtl

Across.

1

1942

ME

Beam

Univ. Studies 56.50,

run athwart the ship, at "There was a big truck right a-thaut the garage door." 1945 Colcord Sea Language 26 ME, Cape Cod MA, Long Island NY, Athwart (Pronounced athought). Across: used in the same sense alongshore. 1955 Adams Grandfather 242 NY. A local obstructionist, whose sheep-run lay athwart the Adams contract for a hundred yards or more. right angles to her keel. [Footnote] Fig

ends

.

.

.

.

.

2 in phr athwart one's hawse: Across one's path, in one's way. 1827 Cooper Red Rover 1.132 RI, I am often luffing athwart your hawse, or getting foul in some fashion or other, on one of your quarters. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 96 ME, Cape Cod MA. Long Island NY. Athwart the hawse means across, or even resting against, the bows Alongshore, "Don't you come athwart my hawse!" means .

.

don't interfere.

athwartships (of) adv Also aphet 'thwartships naut use] N Atl See also athwart

[Transf from

Crosswise.

1916 Macy-Hussey Nantucket Scrap Basket 124, Athwartships (or Crosswise, as '"thwartships of the bench." Speaking of an operation, a Nantucketer said: "they cut him 'thwartships." 1945 Colcord Sea Language 26 ME, Cape Cod MA, Long Island NY. 'thwartships)

.

.

.

Athwartships means

at right angles to the keel: alongshore,

it

means

crosswise. "This piece wants to go right 'thwartships of the crate, so-fashion."'

atilt

See a prep 4 1

atired See a inert vowel

1

n Cfat-me =ante n.

at-it

yam

toes.

.

.

n [Perh so called in contrast to Chinese yam]

(here:

The

.

KS

Dioscorea

fleshy rootstocks

1968 Barkley Plants

Atlantic

Yam.

eating] Infs

FL15, IL97, 98, 135,

M018,

Athe-

Drinking.

villosa).

Wiid Flowers

KS

.

54,

Dioscorea

villosa

— Atlantic

cooked as potaWild Yam. 101. Dioscorea villosa .

,

called 'yams', are

.

.

.

Thickets.

at liquor pred adj Pronc-sp

3.1.14,3.1.17,3.1.23

DARE (Qu.

.

.

athletic fits n pi

Yam

Std senses, var forms.

1965-70

Addit

Std sense, var forms. 1916 DN 4.271 NE, MA, WV, IA, PA, Atheletic widespread for 1927 AmSp 2.347 wcWV, Atheletic athletic. commonly used for athletic. 1927 in 1944 ADDXYC, Athaletic Goods, (sign). \933AmSp 8.2.44 neNY, In the word athletic, [a] is sometimes present, giving [aeOaletik]. 1947 AmSp 22.76, 'Athuletic' is certainlv modern and all-American. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. BB25) Inf M09, ['aeOaJetik]: (Qu. BB49) PA247, [,^6'letiks]: (Qu. DD22) VA73, ['aefa'ledik]. cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural GA seGA, 1 Inf [as-Oaletiks]: 1 Inf [aeOaletik

1948 Stevens

Usu

.aefa-,

ADD

=wild yam

athere See a inert vowel 4

'eOa'liikl

\&5-,

CfelmA

freq |,ae03'letik| rarely

|,ae0'letik|

e0-| Pronc-spp athaletic, atheletic, athuletic quots in See Prone Intro 3.1.17, 3.1.23

Atlantic

a-thaut See athwart

athlete n, also attrib

2

Inf. [eOa'liik fut].

1968 DARE (Qu. BB25) Infs M04, 16. NY 109, PA94, Athlete('s) feet. cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural GA seGA, 5 Infs, Athletef s) feet:

.

1

['aetjit] feet.

1963 KY Folkl. Rec. 61 seKY, The marbles of an individual being played for in a game at-it.

A2

athirst See a prep

1

MO 16

Inf. ['aeOaJzez 'flit]:

1

Athlete's foot.

.

Naut, usu in phr all ~: fully rigged, with equipped, in readiness. 1838 Cooper Homeward Bound!. 70, The

.

'flit];

GA seGA,

athlete('s) feet n sg See also athletic foot

.

are found, flowering early in the

and hoary

.

Survey Rural

at liquor

/

.

.

the shady borders of the

5 A, 10, ['atojitfs)] foot (or feet);

Dial.

Infs. ['ae03,li(i)ts

.

1

.

M04.

lete's foot;

C1970 Pederson

only.

all;

all

~

licker

[OED

at 15, as at meat,

at-me

au

/

104

1936 Morehouse Rain on Just 79 NC, Not one of us ought to be Rease just now buried. Dead along of that same poison.

licker

.

.

at

KY Folkl. Rec.

60 seKY, Game played by shooting at opponent's marble, his shooter, no boundaries at-me. .

.

atni-over See Antony-over atole n Also sp

A gruel

[MexSpan]

atol, atolle, atolli

mush made usu

or

chiefly

SW

of Indian corn.

.

.

.

.

.

—

porridge

at

made

1893 Shands .

.

of corn meal.

.

MS Speech,

"Come

at on";

somewhat

At

i.e.

[set].

Come

[EDD at VI

at oneself adj phr

Used by negroes

come

right on, (1 1)

—

1768

as equivalent to

at once.

chiefly Sth,

]

Midi

old-fash

At one's

best; in full possession of one's physical or mental powers. 1872 ( 1973) Thompson Major Jones 's Courtship 89 GA, I do b'lieve if they hadn't brung little Henry Clay to her, she never would got her senses agin. She aint more'n half at herself yit. 1895 Twain in Harper's Mag. 91.93/2, [Joan] was always at herself. 1896 Ibid 93.345/1 MO, Tom Sawyer was the levelest head I ever see, and always at himself and ready for anything you might spring on him. 1902 DN 2.228 sIL, 'To be at one's self.' To be in a condition equal to the performance of a task. 1903 DN 2.305 seMO. 1904 DN 2.416 nwAR, 'When he's at himself, he's a clever man.' This sentence was used of a man periodically insane. 1907 DN 3.228 nwAR, seMO. 1908 DN 3.287 eAL, wGA, I can easily pick 300 pounds of cotton when I am at myself. 1915 DN 4. 80 swVA. 1942 ( 97 ) Campbell Cloud- Walking 248 seKY, Times when she was too plumb bad off to be right at herself. 1944 PADS 2.53 MO, He was at himself when he made that trade. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, He certainly was at himself when he married that girl of his. 1966 DARE (Qu. HH6, Someone who is out of his mind) Inf GA7, Not at 1

.

.

.

.

1

1

1

hisself.

To

inert

atsui adj [Japanese]

Hot. 1972 Carr sions are

Da Kine

still

vowel 3

[OED attend A,

Many

Talk 92 HI,

in use, particularly

1970 DARE (Qu. GG2, "So time that he got completely [attack

.

+ excr

.

.

of the simple and basic expres-

atsui 'hot.'

many things ")

were going on at the same

Inf CA 1 74, Atsy.

atter See after

VA Calendar State Papers

1

.

107,

It is

most probable

that

DN

ADD

FW

just like that.

[attack

+

attack. in 1889

75, Attic.

n [See quot 1975]

attic fly

=cluster fly 1. 1 965 - 70 DARE (Qu. R 12) Infs OH61,PA76, Attic flies. 1915 DARE File Madison WI, Attic flies some call them cluster flies are a little bigger than house flies In the fall, the flies go to dark places like attics, and when it gets too warm they come out of the attic (sometimes down the chimney) and fly to the light. At windows they sometimes cluster in

—

.

—

.

balls the size of a football.

attitude n

Of the wind: direction, disposition. PADS 14. 12 SC [Black], Boss, bu'n off one side de road lak you

1

1950 beena

I

tell

me. an'

I

gwi' bu'n off turrer side fus time

I

ketch de win' in de

right attitude.

Of persons: a haughty manner. 1970 DARE (Qu. Y4, A very uncomplimentary remark) Inf NY249, Don't be getting no attitude a negative remark. [Black Inf] 2

.

.

—

attle n [Cornish]

West Cf tailings

In mining: waste rock.

1945

MT.

CA

Folkl. Qrly. 4.320

1968

Adams Western

CO,

Attle:

Waste rock.

1946 Ibid 5.167

Words.

A2

attuh See after

—»1842, "arch, and dial."]

old-fash

layer 2 7 nNY, The difference atween an Indian gentleman and a white gentleman. Ibid 244, The rifle will settle the p'int atween us. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 116 IN, Made up the lettle matter of diff runce atween us. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 299 sAppalachians, Right sensibly atween the shoulders I've got a pain. 1940 in 1969 Stuart Come Gentle Spring 1 3 1 neKY, A fair fight atween you two. 1

[OED ^1870,

Blwu pwinte. 1756 in 1898 Hamilton Letters to four hundred to attact me, and also Washington 1.220, There was four hundred to attact the upper fort Cocks. 1781 PA Jrl. & Weekly

ffoxwells Garison att

.

.

chiefly

S

.

.

1926 Kephart Highlanders 362 sAppalachians, 1934 Afore, atwixt, [are] everyday expressions of the backwoods. 1944 PADS 2. 1 7 sAppa( 970) Wilson Backwoods Amer. 64 Ozarks. lachians. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, I'll be there atwixt two and four. peace atwixt 'em. .

.

1

A

|o?u|

[Haw]

HI

esp a sailfish, swordfish, or marlin. 1960 Gosline-Brock Hawaiian Fishes 261, Family Istiophoridae a family of large pelagic fishes of the (Sailfishes and Marlins or A 'us) tropical and subtropical oceans. 1967 Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI) 31 May Fl/4, A'u— swordfish or marlin. 1967 DARE (Qu. P2) Inf HI 14, billfish,

.

ME Hist. Soc. Doc. Hist. 4.463, The enemy Attacted mr

now

"arch, or dial"]

old-fash

Between. 1823 Cooper Pioneers 2.223 nNY, There's been more peace than love tried ter keep the atwixt us. 1884 Murfree TNMts. 222, Her brother

au n

attackt v Also sp attact; past and past pple attached excr -t; cf -ed pret suff 1 ] widespread 1689

+ tend]

A2

n The upper balcony in a theater. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. D40) Infs MS45, VA13,

Midi

ye first Attackt will be made upon ye shipps in York River. 1891 1.165 cNY. 1935 in 1 944 neNY, A sudden [ataekt]. 1936 AmSp 11.239 eTX. 1943 LANE Map 509, 2 Infs, swME, An attackt of 'pendicitis. 1968 DARE Addit PA90, I had a heart attackt in February. 1 978 DARE File nwKS, He had a heart [ataskt] and was gone

To

but this is perh a prep 5 1

",

1963 Edwards Gravel 131 eTN (as of 1920s), So happened I wuz attendin about ten acres of that bottom land on the thirds. Usilly got half for upland.

atwixt prep

widespread

-t]

attack. in 1875

"Obs.

1834 Life Andrew Jackson 103 TN, He therefore retired tu a narrow pass atween the swamp and the Missippi. 1841 (1952) Cooper Deers-

tatsy adj [Perh from antsy 3] Confused.

attackt n

.

Between.

HI

.

.

tend, look after, manage.

atween prep [OED

atowards See a

1706

.

attacted him.

attend v

.

An

DN

1922 Gonzales Black Border 288 sSC, GA coast [Gullah], Attacktid. 1930 AmSp 5.265 Ozarks, The hillman almost invariably says attackted instead of attacked. 1936 AmSp 11.239 eTX. Ibid 312 seNY. 1 966 - 69 DARE Tape G A30, That alligator [a'taskdad] him; IL7, 1 didn't feel that I was going to be [a'taekwd] by anyone when I had this dog with me: KY28, That'n what [a'taekttd] that man named Andy; MI2, Anybody who could prove that he was [a'taektid] by a wolf They would never [a'taekt] a person. 1968 DARE FW Addit PA 142, The bear

on adv phr

right

This is the weapon with which he 1891 1 165 cNY, [a'tsekt] and

attic

See a inert vowel 5

atoll v

2,

attacted.

.

1672 Hughes American Physician 156 (AmSp 34.27), Atolle. Flour of Indian Wheat, and water mixed together, to put into Chocolate. 1824 Poinsett Notes on Mexico 145, They are very fond of a gruel (atolli) made of the flour [of Indian corn] and sweetened with honey. 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 109 NM, A sort of thin mush, called atole, made of Indian meal, is another article of diet that in the North is called the coffee of the Mexicans. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms. 1892 DN 1.187 TX. 1946 Peattie Pacific Coast 41 CA (as of 1814), All partook of a morning meal of atole (a whole-wheat gruel). 1968 Adams Western Words, Atol A kind of corn meal, or gruel or .

May

16 is

1905ZW3.59NE. 1907ZW3.180seNH. 1908ZW3.288 eAL, wG'A-, Attached, pret. and pp. of attack. 1910 DN 3.436 wNY.

marbles game: see quot.

1963

PA)

[a'taektid].

at-me n Cfat-it

A

Advt. (Philadelphia

defends himself when he

.

Au

[a'u]

— swordfish or marlin.

.

— auau

105

auau v [Haw 'auau

HI

to bathe]

1938 Reinecke

auau n [auau

//a»va//'flrt

Loanwords 8, Auau

.

.

.

To swim; to bathe in

2

HI

v]

l938Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords

auctioneer n Usu

|pks3n'ir|

Auau

8,

.

.

.

Swimming; bathing.

occas |pks9n'ir|

audacious(ly) |au'des3s(li)|,

adj,

MD, NC, Auctioneer [oksanir]. adv Usu |o'des3s(li)|; in Sth, Midi

Pronc-spp oudacious,

occas folk-etym laut'desasi

1847 (1962) Robb Squatter Life 106 MO, Old Alic had a darter Molly. war the most enticin', heart-distressin' feline creatur that ever made a fellar get owdacious. 1859 (1968) Bartletx Americanisms, Owdacious, 1884 Lanier Poems 179 Sth for audacious. Southern and Western. 1890 DN 1.68 KY, Outdacious [Black], She do grow owdaciouslee. 1891 Page Elsket 134 VA [Black], It wuz p'intedly ouda[autdesas]. 1899 (1912) cious for her to come to my own house an' rob me. Green VA Folk-Speech, Outdacious. 1903 DN 2.305 seMO, Audaoudacious. 1907 DN 3.228 nwAR. 1909 DN 3.355 eAL, cious wGA, Outdacious. 1950 PADS 14.50 SC, Owdacious [au'desas], outdathat

cious

.

.

.

.

.

B As

.

Bold, audacious; unrestrained; outrageous.

[EDD 1875—] Cf bodaciously

1941 Sat. Eve. Post 22 Mar 24/1 high for three hours' work.

NC, Twenty

was outdacious

dollars

auf See off adv

auger See augur

n, v

1

as with

To

look surreptitiously. 1923 DN 5.200 swMO, Augur

.

.

To

.

plan, to scheme.

To

'augur

To go about

.

")

lion,"

eyed

.

.

.

.

.

plant.

CA

176, Gum-Plant. Resin-Weed. August1898 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 1 1.229, Grindelia rosin weed, August flower. Cal.

1897 Parsons Wild Flowers

Flower. Grindelia cuneifolia. (sp.),

gum

August

plant,

~

n Also August bug,

fly

cricket

1966-70 DARE (Qu. R7, Insects that sit in trees or bushes in hot weather and make a sharp, buzzing sound) Inf IL45. August bug or heat bug you never see it. It's a twenty-year aphid or something. They make also called August fly; NY83. noise in hot weather: NH5, Cicada Creatures that make a clicking or shrilling PA70, August fly; (Qu. R8. or chirping kind of sound) Inf MA68, August cricket; (Qu. R10) Infs IN45. KY80. August fly.

—

—

.

August grape n =frost grape (here: Vitis vulpina). 1960 Vines TreesSW73U Vitisvulpina Grape and August Grape.

.

.

Vernacular names are Fox

.

.

watermelon.

(Qu.

1926 Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 279 NYC [Black], Ah hates duh spring; Ah sighs fo' August ham. 1942 Berrev-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 91.35.

auhuhu n [Haw 'auhuhu]

A

.

.

Sharp eyed, gimlet eyed.

.

1931

46.1309 sAppalachians, Other expressions: "heller," "hel"auger-eyed." 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.517 swNC, AugerHaving sharp eyes. 1972 Cooper NC Mt. Folkl. 89.

augerino n West joe An imaginary creature responsible

shrubby legume. Tephrosia purpurea. 1948 (1965) Neal Gardens #7448, 'Auhuhu Formerly, Hawaiians fish rose to the surface in caught fish by poisoning them with this plant a drugged condition and were easily caught for food. 1967 DARE (Qq. Si 6, 21) Inf HI4. Auhuhu horses won't eat it. [People] pound [and] throw [it] in water and kill fish. Hawaiian gunpowder (no explosion). .

.

.

.

.

—

[Laughter]

for boring holes in irrigation

ditches.

Amer. Folkl. 54.29 CO, Where irrigation is practiced, ranchers are humorously angry about the activities of the "Augerino," a malevolent subterranean creature whose sole mission in life is to let the water 1941

=gum

fly

CA

August flower n

A

Inf AR41, Augerin' ['oga^n].

auger-eyed adj S Midi Having sharp or piercing eyes. 1927 DNS. 472 Ozarks, Auger-eyed

PMLA

August bug, August cricket See August

.

.

around.

]

August ham n joe

aimlessly.

"He'salways 1966 DARE (Qu.YH, To go about aimlessly around the drugstore.") Inf AR40. Augerin' ['ogaMn]; "He doesn't have anything to do, so he's just KK31, .

West

1

Talking, conversation; arguing. 1942 Henry High Border 292 nRocky Mts, There is fighting [at rodeos], liquor-inspired arguing "augurin' " as an old-timer would say 1944 Adams Western Words, Augurin' name-calling, dancing. match ... At the start they talk fast and furious, but after an hour or so they slow down to a trot to be savin' of both words and wind.

.

'roun", to investigate surreptitiously.

2

[augur v

n, also attrib

.

auger (around) v Also sp augur [auger to turn or twist, an auger] Ozarks 1

argue.

1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 26 West, They looked to Brimstone to help 'em out, but he declared 'imself hogtied when it come to augurin" with his old woman, and it was jes' as useless as barkin' at a knot.

A cicada.

adv.

Extremely, very.

.

—

Forms.

.

To

.

auguring vbl freq

outdacious, owdacious(lee)

.

/ It

augur v 2 See auger (around)

Std senses, var form. 1967 Key Tobacco Vocab.

A

all the way / Told me cow-punching was just child's to was no work at all. 1944 Adams H 'estern Words, Augur talk. 1945 Thorp Pardner 26 SW, We "augered" a bit. I asked where he was bound for.

play

the sea or a stream.

aunt

me most

augered

To swim.

/

1966

Jrl.

out of irrigation ditches.

esp AR Cfnault LL15, To write ten, what figure do you put

ault n Pronc-sp for aught

DARE (Qu.

Infs

AR18. AR22. MS71,

less

than coll educ]

Ault;

AR31. Zero,

after 17)

aught, auk. [All Infs have

aunt n Usu |aent| throughout US For varr see below See also 1941 L.4A £Maps 384, 385 and 1961 Kurath - McDavid Prone, of English Map 67 Cfant n A Forms. 1 [ant, ant], esp eXEng, eVA, and elsewhere among bettereduc speakers; sometimes considered affected, esp when overr

augur n Also auger [Prob augur v for boring holes: see 1

An

quot 1936]

perh also

1

,

chiefly

infl

by auger tool

West

excessive talker; a bore.

—

1890 Farmer -Henley Slang, Augur (American thieves'). A person given to prosiness a bore. 1936 Adams Cowboy Lingo 220 West, An 'auger' was a man with unusual 'talkin' talents.' a great and inveterate talker; one who could 'bore you'; 'get his auger into you,' as the cowboy expressed it. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 17 West, Augur is a word commonly used in the cattle country to mean "a big talker." 1977 Watts Diet. Old West. .

.

.

.

.

;

.

.

2 See big auger.

corrected to [ont]. 1847 Hurd Grammatical Corrector 78, Aunt

Incorrectly proawnt. Correctly pronounced ant [with a as in far]. 1890 PML4 5. 196 ceVA. The educated make a distinction between ant [aent] and aunt [ant], but the commoner people pronounce both [aent]. 1891 1908 3.288 PStLA 6.163 WT, Aunt is often pronounced [ant]. eAL, wGA, Aunt Sometimes [ant] or [ont] by the partially educated. 1930 AmSp 5.340 eMA, Clearly [a] in asked, aunt. Ibid 348

nounced

.

.

.

.

.

augur v augur

To

1

n,

Also sp auger [Metath form of argue] auguring

West See also

converse, chat (with). 1908 in 1975 White Git Along 148 West, A stranger dropped in and stopped to augur some. 1921 Thorp Songs Cowboys 13 AZ, Brown 1

talk,

MA,

.

.

.

.

DN

.

.

.

.

Ibid 348 ME, [a] in aunt, half. 1936 aunt are never heard except as consciously cultivated pronunciations. 1961 Kurath - McDavid Prone. Engl. 135. In two areas. Eastern New England and Tidewater Virginia.

Boston

AmSp

1

1.21

[a] in aunt, grass.

eTX,

[a:nt]

and

[a:nt] for

aunt

Aunt Jane's room

/

106

aunt has predominantly the vowel occurring in car, garden : that is, low front [a] in New England, low-back to low-central /a/ in Virginia. 1976 Allen 3.274, Most U[pper] M[idwest] infs pronounce But two out of 10 aunt as /sent/ infs. have in aunt a vowel ranging in quality from [a] to [o]. .

LAUM .

2 [e(i)n(t),

.

.

.

UM

.

e(t), e(t)].

.

.

Pronc-spp ai\ aint

chiefly

S Midi,

less

freq Sth

1903 DN 2.290 Cape Cod MA (as of 1850s), My grandfather's Aint Massy became my father's Aunt Mercy. 1928 AmSp 3.404 Ozarks, The vowel of aunt is usually pronounced like short a, but many of the older people give it something like a long a sound, so that the word can hardly be distinguished from ain 't. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 4 [Black], Aunt Betsey was slightly above medium height Her skin held just enough of brown to escape being black Among the servants the usual solution to a knotty problem was "Ax Ai' Betsey. She knows." Ibid passim. 1933 Miller Lamb in His Bosom 1 12 GA, Old Aint Viney's high-voiced cackling. 1934 AmSp 9.209 VA, In one community in Virginia I have heard at least ten different ways of pronouncing aunt [aeint], [aem], [ent], [en], [emt], [em], [et], [e], [et], [e]. 1936

MS

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

AmSp

eTX, Aunt

11.21

...

pronounced

is

[aeAnt],

[sent],

.

.

.

Frequently, in rapid utterance, .

it is

merely

[e?].

.

3 Other forms. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, An'... For aunt. "It belongs to an' Fanny." 1926 DN 5.385 ME, Aunt [arm], never [ont]. 1959 VT Hist, ns 27.124 csVT, Aunt [arnt] Occasional. .

B

AA27

'

-

1948 Word 4.183, Female anthropomorphisms are numerous: little sister's here, Aunt Jane, my country cousin, I expect a visit from my Aunt Susie, are some of the more typical phrases. 1954 AmSp 29.298 TX, OK, FL ["Vernacular of Menstruation"], Aunt Flo has come (W[omen], collegiate). 1967-70 DARE (Qu. AA27) Inf MD9, Aunt Suzie's visiting; NE3, An aunt came to see me; TX95, Her redheaded aunt is visiting her. 1971 AmSp 46.82 Chicago IL, Menstrual period .Aunt Jody's come with her suitcase. 1978 MJLF 4. 1 .38 cTX, Some women personify the event: "Mother Nature," "Granny's coming," "Aunt Minnie is visiting." .

.

.

.

.

6 In var mild oaths: an exclamation of disbelief or excitement. [OEDS A unt Fanny 1 945 ] euphem 1965-68 DARE (Qu. NN27a, Weakened substitutes for "God") Inf NY66, My Aunt Nellie!; (Qu. NN29a) Inf SC44, Great Aunt Hattie!

—

JAunt Arushy n CfZ)SWla-c 1941

[ent],

1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 24 wNC, eTN, Aunt is usually [aent], once [ant], but also [ent]. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Here comes Aint Mary. Ibid. Aunt [ent]. 1961 Kurath-McDavid Prone. Engl. 135, Aunt with the vowel /e/ of paint occurs in the folk speech of parts of the South and the South Midland. It is not very common, except in eastern North Carolina and southern West Virginia. Only a fraction of those who have /e/ in can't use it also in aunt. 1967 DARE Tape TX49, Aunt [ent]. [emt]

5 usu in comb and in var phrr, as Aunt Flo is coming or visiting: Menstruation, euphem, esp among female speakers Cf DS

LANE Map 367 eMA, [aenta'ruusi], 'Nickname' for an umbrella.

Aunt Dinah's dead n [Prob Scots: reported from wScotl Folk- Lore (London) 16.343]

A

children's ring

game

1906

in

in which, after a brief introductory

rhyme, each player imitates the successive actions of the leader. 1953 Brewster Amer. Nonsinging Games 32, Old Mother Hobble-Gobble is known also as Aunt Dinah's Dead Each of the other .

.

.

.

.

.

.

must imitate the action of the leader. On the second round he sets a new task, but the players must keep on doing the first also For failure to perform any or all of the actions called for by the leader, penalties are imposed. 1970 DARE (Qu. EE1, Games in which they form a ring, and either sing or recite a rhyme) Inf MO30, Aunt players

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dinah's dead.

Also auntie, aunty

Senses.

—

1 An elderly woman unrelated to the speaker used as a term of respectful address, chiefly NEng 1801 Historical Review (Cork) 2.189 (DAE) eMA, People of Nanalways call each other cousin, uncle or aunt, which are betucket come common appellations. 1862 (1882) Stowe Pearl of Orr'sis. 20 eME, These universally useful persons receive among us the title of "aunt" by a sort of general consent, showing the strong ties of relationships which bind them to the whole human family. 1903 DN 2.302 Cape Cod (as of 1850s), Most elderly people were called uncle or aunt. Ibid 305 seMO, Aunt Used in speaking of an aged woman. No relationship implied. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. .

.

.

.

.

snowing: see quot.

DARE FW Addit KY50, Aunt Dinah's picking when huge feathery snowflakes are falling, especially in first snow falls. Old-fashioned. 1969

when followed by the woman's name, auntie when name is unknown: An elderly black woman used as a term

—

of respectful address. Sth, Midi 1835 Hoffman Winter in West (NY) 2.121 nKY, Haifa dozen negroes made their appearance from the log-cabin "Aunty," cried my companion "has your master got any apples in the house?" 1893Shands MS Speech 18, Aunt or Aunty applied by all classes to old colored women ... It is customary to say aunty if her name is not known, and aunt with her name expressed if it is known. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech. 1903 DN2.305 seMO, Auntie ... An old negress. A term of respect or affection. 1907 DN 3.228 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA, Aunt Used as a respectful prefix to the given name of a when the given grown-up or an elderly negro woman Auntie name is not known. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1967 DARE Tape AL20, 1 say Aunt Lotti and Uncle Archie ... It was kind of respect for them. 1967-69 DARE FW Addit SC, Auntie— Title applied to older Negroes, also without the name if you didn't know it; KY65, Aunt used to address an adult Negro woman; becoming old-fashioned, but is still used. 1970 Tarpley B I inky 263 neTX, Auntie and uncle axe given as .

.

.

.

.

,

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

Mormon polygamous families: the term of address used by

children to refer to wives of their father other than their mother.

1965-67 DARE Tape UT1, [Question:] Did any of these wives live on, What did you call them? you knew them when you were older? [Answer:] Aunt; ID14, They [=my father's two wives] didn't live in the same house Aunt Anna lived upstairs in the little house; ID 11, Aunt. 4 A midwife. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. AA30, An older woman who comes in to help when a baby is going to be born) Inf CA1 14, Auntie [genu] probably not an aunt at all, midwife technical term; MI81, Midwife, Auntie (first name); VA34, Midwife, Aunt so-and-so. so that

.

.

Gen

~

21:9]

race.

1935 Hurston Mules & Men 1 62 FL, You fool wid Aunt Hagar's chillun and they'll sho distriminate you and put yo' name in de streets. [Footnote: Negroes are in similie [sic] children of Hagar; white folks, of Sarah.] 1942 Hurston in Amer. Mercury 55.94 NYC [Black; Glossary of Harlem Slang], Aunt Hagar Negro race (also Aunt Hagar's chillun). used by 1954 PADS 21. 20 SC, Aunt Hagar's chillun, Hagar's chillun Negroes to designate themselves. Not frequently heard. [1976 Murray is remembered Stomping the Blues 95, W.C. Handy, 1873-1958, mainly as the composer of The St. Louis Blues, Beale Street Blues, and Chantez les Bas.] Aunt Hagar's Children,

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

auntie-broke-her-leg exclam Cf aunty In the children's

1968

DARE (Qu.

game of Antony

over: =anti-come-back. EE23b) Inf WI66, Auntie-broke-her-leg.

Aunt Jane n among Black speakers 1 =Aunt Thomasina 1 derog .

1970 Major Afro- Amer. Slang, Aunt Jane: female Uncle Tom. 1972 Claerbaut Black Jargon, Aunt Jane ... 1 a black female who is a traitor to her race. 2. a black woman who tries to live a white life style. 1977 [see Aunt Thomasina 1]. .

A female member of a Black church. 1970 Time 6 Apr 71 NYC, Black Christians must relearn the wholehearted involvement with religion that typifies the churches' "Aunt Janes." [Footnote:] Affectionate black-church term for the amen-saying, clapping, lustily singing black-church "sister."

.

.

.

—

and

Also Aunt Hagar, Hagar's

pi

[Hagar, wife of Abraham and mother of Ishmael: among Black speakers

The Black

geese— said

2

terms of respect for elderly Negroes.

.

Aunt Ha gar's children n

.

.

.

her

early winter

.

2 usu aunt

3 In

It's

.

MA

the

iAunt Dinah's picking her geese phr

—

.

Aunt Jane's room n Also with other feminine names, occas abbr, as in A unt Jane 's or A unt Susie chiefly Nth, N Midi joe,

euphem

An

outdoor

1939

AmSp

toilet,

1941

Jane's room.'

1950 WELS,

a privy.

14.268 IN, 1

Inf,

An

outdoor

toilet is

sometimes called 'Aunt

LANE Map 354 (Privy) cCT, Auntie Jones;

1

Inf,

Aunt

1

Inf,

Susie;

1

Aunt Jerusha's. Aunt Mary.

Inf,

— Aunt Jemima

107

ME

1 68, To "go see Aunt Sally" is to visit the privy and 1957 Beck Folkl. Sally spoke to me" indicates the trip there was a success. cl960 Outdoor toilet; used largely inside Wilson Coll. csKY, Aunt Jane's 1966-68 DARE (Qu. M21b) Inf ID1, Aunt the family, humorous. 1971 Today Show Letters rural IN, Jenny's; NY1 13, Aunt Sarah's.

"Aunt

.

Aunt

Susie

—a

.

.

1980 Folb Runnin' Down 228 [Black], Aunt Jemima Tom.

— Female coun-

Aunt Jericho n [Folk-etym] =angelica la, esp Angelica atropurpurea. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.89, Angelica, sp., Aunt

Aunt Lucy n [Prob folk-etym

N[ew]

Jerichos,

of Ellis ia]

alter

.

.

.

.

Lucy.

Aunt Lucy: Phacelia purshi

[sic].

Aunt Thomasina n Also ~ Thomasine

A black woman with a servile attitude toward whites; a female

derog Also called Aunt Jane 1, Aunt Jemima II20a, A person who tries too hard to gain somebodyelse's favor) Inf PA239, Uncle Tom, Aunt Thomasine [asnt 'toumaesinj. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 252 [Black], Aunt Thomasina, Aunt Jane, female sell-outs, those abandoning

.

.

black culture for whiteness, as well as those

who shuffle before The Man.

2 Transf: A woman considered untrue to her cause. 1970 Atlantic Mth. 225.112/2, Accommodators and temporizers within the Women's Lib movement were spoken of as Aunt Thomasinas.

aunty n used in the children's game of Antony-over. 1940 Marran Games Outdoors 97 MO, The ball used in this game is known as "Aunty," and it may be an indoor baseball, a tennis ball, or a bean bag.

The

ball

2 See aunt B.

aunty-i-over See anti-i-over

aunty-over See anti-over

n,

.

—

Ibid (Ifa man loses interest Ausgespielt. 1 965 - 70 DARE

ceW'I, Ausgespielt.

a girl and stops seeing her) 1 Inf, cwWI, KK19, Temporarily out of order: "My sewing machine is ") Inf MI68, Ausgespielt; There's no (Qu. LL17, more. "The potatoes are ")InfsIL130, PA135.TX1, WA28, in

.

.

.

Ausgespielt. |'D03(r)|,

also \'q(t)Q^t), 'orGarl

.

.

.

=Indian summer. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. B32)

.

.

sp

Infs

KY52, OH48, Autumn summer.

awa 'a, awaha [Haw 'auwaha] HI

or furrow.

1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Auwaha ... A trench, ditch, or Ibid. Awa'a Same as auwaha. 1954-60 Hance Hawaiian Sugar, Awaha Trench, furrow; cane line. .

.

auwaha

.

.

.

.

HI

v [auwaha n]

1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Auwaha ... To cut furrows.

HI

auwai n [Haw 'auwai]

An

irrigation ditch.

1865 (1965) Andrews

Hawaiian

Diet.

5/2,

Auwai

.

.

.

The

general

1934 Frear Lowell & Abigail 25 1 HI, A little green garden surrounded by white palings and cherishing both flowers and a singing auwai. 1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Auwai ... A small ditch for irrigation purposes. 1967 DARE (Qu. Cl) Inf HI4. Auwai.

name

for streams used in artificial irrigation.

.

.

auwana v [Haw 'auwana] HI To wander about aimlessly, to go by

walking.

1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Auwana ... To wander; to go from place to place, idling ... 2. To journey by walking, as to school (used among schoolchildren on Kawai). 1968 DARE (Qu. Y29a, To "go out" a great deal) Inf HI4, Auwana.

auwe Oh!

HI

v]

.

.

.

Gadabout; wan-

intj

An

[Haw auwe] HI

|'awe|

exclamation of surprise or other emotions: see quot

1938.

1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, indeed, almost any emotion

1969

Forms.

1973 AmSp 48.94 GA, Yours truly and immensely The 1915 DN4. 180 sv/XA,Arthurs Authors: the card game. 1943 in 1944 ADD nWV, Author 3r8r]. 'The orther of the book.' Boy age 10. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Authors ... A card game formerly popular. Sometimes ['arGgz, 'a©3z]. 1966 Ibid, ['arO*] of a book. 1 976 Garber Mountain-ese 4 s Appalachians, Garber is the arther uv this book. in

.

.

.

.

[

.

.

—

...

An

exclamation of

.

.

.

F[requent].

HI People 3\0.

1955 Day

DARE File HI Auwe ['awe]. Exclamation of disappointed surprise.

Common. 1972 heard

in

Carr Da Kine Talk 86 HI, Hawaiian words commonlyHawaii's English Auwe. Oh! Alas! .

.

.

avalanche n [See quot 1859] 1 A spring wagon. TX old-fash Cf ambulance Bl 1859

(

1

968) Bartlett Americanisms, Avalanche.

A

A Texan corruption of

1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 580, Avalanche, a corruption of ambulance, was already before the late Civil War much used in Texas and the outlying territories, but is said to have caused no small merriment in the Confederate Camp, when Prince Polignac once showed very great excitement upon being informed by a sergeant that the "avalanche was just coming down the hill as fast as fury." cl937 Yetman Voices 336 TX (as of c 860), A yellow man drove her down in a two-horse avalanche. the French Ambulance.

Orthor.

Auwe

pleasurable excitement, wonder, surprise, grief, pain, or condolence

Pronc-spp arther,

arthur, orther, orthor

1863

terrestris.

.

.

author n Usu

in

derer.

Tired out; finished, broken. Also fig. 1 907 Porter Heart of West 3 1 7, We will now pass you the time of day, as it is up to us to depart. Ausgespielt nixcumrous, Dutchy. 1950

(Qu.

may come

fruits

calyx]

1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Auwana

the end]

Inf,

fond of growing along

Automobile Plant: Tribulus

6,

auwana n [auwana

ausgespielt adj [Past pp\z of Gzr ausspielen to play out, play to

1

is

autumn summer n Cf OED autumn spring

exclam

ausenburg See osnaburg

WELS(Very tired)

caltrop

1964 Batson Wild Flowers SC 104, Autumn Bells: Gerardia purpurea Calyx very short and bell-shaped Summer and fall. New England to Florida.

DARE (Qu.

highly negative references to black

Our

[From the shape of the

bells n

furrow.

Uncle Tom.

A

Index Herb. Plants

A trench 5,

Plants 55,

and other waste places where the

auwaha n Also

2 =miami mist. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

~ plant

=gerardia (here: Gerardia purpurea).

MO

1

Common

1942

contact with the tires of automobiles, greatly to their detriment. It has now become puncture- vine and automobile-weed with every indication that these manufactured names, like the fruits, will stick. 1959 Carleton

autumn

small delicate annual plant (Ellisia nyctelea) of the waterleaf family which has deeply-cut tomatolike leaves and small white to lavender flowers followed by globose fruits. Also called waterpod, wild tomato 1940 Steyermark Flora 440, Ellisia, Aunt-Lucy (Ellisia NycteMoist woods, thickets, and cultivated or waste ground. lea) Throughout M[issour]i. 1970 Correll Plants TX 1273, Ellisia Aunt

1970

.

Std sense, var forms. 1934 (1970) Wilson Backwoods Amer. 1 26 Ozarks, Autymobile. Rawlings Cross Creek 45 FL, We bought us an ottymobile.

1931 Clute

A

1

.

.

desert roadsides

E[ngland]. 1931 Clute Common Plants 48, On the tongues of such folk, Angelica becomes Aunt Jericho. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 1 50, Its name [Angelica (atropurpurea)] is often corrupted to "auntjerichos. " 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 46.

.

—

1 784] arch authority. [OED author sb. 4 A person on whose 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Author authority a statement is made. "Brown is my author for what I tell you."

automobile weed n Also =puncture vine.

terpart of Uncle

.

Sense.

An

automobile n Pronc-spp autymobile, ottymobile

privy.

Aunt Jemima n =Aunt Thomasina.

1

B

avalanche

/

.

spring waggon.

.

1

2

An

ambulance.

1

avalanche

lily

DARE

1968

/

away

108

(Qu. Nl) Inf

MO 17 A,

I've

heard colored people

call

it

NW

avalanche lily n [From its snowline habitat] Pacific =dogtooth violet (here: esp Erythronium montanum). 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 28, Around Mt.

.

Rainier

grow in large patches at the edge of the snow, alongside of the Avalanche Lily. 1934 Haskin Wild Flowers Pacific Coast 29, Avalanche lily. This species of dog-tooth violet covers large areas in the alpine meadows of the Cascade Mountains. 1949 Peattie Cascades 252, Most of the slopes and swales are soon white again with lovely, fragile avalanche lilies. 1950 FWP Guide ID 67, Horrendously named avalanche lily by some, lamb's tongue by others. cl960 Chambers Wild Flowers OR 5, Wild flowers of the Cascade forest these beautiful plants often

.

.

.

include

avast orig

.

v,

Du

.

avalanche

lily

(Erythronium).

usu imper, often aphet vast [Transf from naut use; prob hou' vast, houd vast "hold fast"] chiefly coastal NEng

.

.

-nju, -niu| occas See Prone Intro 3.1. 10

I'aeva.nu,

avenoo, avenyuh

I'aevanjal

Pronc-spp

Std senses, var forms. 1930s in 1944 ADD NYC, ['aevenja]. 1942 Time June 58 NYC, I bunked into a friend of mine on Moitle Avenoo. 1943 New Yorker 1 Dec 31/2 NYC, Those cop-shooters and wild men used to be around the West Side, Tenth Avenyuh and around there ... I come across McElroy, from Eighth Avenyuh, behind one tree. 1

Usu

n, adj

occas

|'aevnj|,

Pronc-spp adverage,

|'evnj|

evrage Std senses, var forms. 1867 Lowell Biglow 32 "Upcountry" MA, All thet you've gut to know is jes' beyund an evrage darky. 1891 DN 1.128 cNY, [evndz] 'average'. 1911 DN 3.541 NE, Adverage occasional for average. .

aw

.

GA coast

Gullah

—

awa n [Haw 1

)

(Qu. H58, Milk that's just beginning to become sour Inf HI6, [aua^aua].

'awa kava]

—

of var past and past pple forms OED awake etym note and

HI

1930 Degener Ferns of HI 122, Piper is represented locally by Piper methysticum Forst, the awa of the natives. 1938 Reinecke Hawaiian Loanwords, Awa ... A shrub of the pepper family (Piper methysticum). 1948 (1965) Neal Gardens HI 291, 'Awa is a native of Pacific islands, and in early times it was distributed eastward through tropical islands by migrating people, who valued the root as the source of a drink and of medicine. 2 An intoxicating drink made from the root of the plant. 1843 in 1 934 Frear Lowell & Abigail 1 64 HI, We have suspended about twenty persons for rum and awa drinking. 1930 Degener Ferns of HI

When Kamehameha

for alcoholic liquors, forsook drinking awa many of the Hawaiians followed suit. 1955 Day HI People 9, A skinny, ancient priest to red-eyed from drinking too much awa, led him mount the temple platform. 1967 Reinecke -Tsuzaki Hawaiian Loanwords, Ava, awa; /'awa/; n. A stimulating and intoxicating drink made from the root of the kava (Piper methysticum), formerly much used by the native Hawaiians, but now used little or not at all. .

.

is difficult;

AHD

for discussion, see

wake usage

note.)

See also

1 past: usu awoke, awaked; also awakened, esp freq among better-educated speakers; rarely awoken, awokened. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 25, The preterite is recorded in the context "I (woke) up." Awoke /awok/ is fairly common in s.N.Eng. and adjacent parts of N.Y., rare in the North Midland, and does not occur farther south. Seven cultured infs use this form Awakened /awekand/ is used by 10 informants (nearly all in N.Y. and N.J.), two of whom are cultured. 1960 PADS 34.6 1 CO, The prefixed forms awoke and awakened are typically older popular speech. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. X42, What other way do you have to say, "I stopped sleeping at six o'clock"?) 67 Infs, throughout US, Awakened. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 72% were hs- and coll-educ; of those giving this response, 86% were hs- and coll-educ]; NY 166, "Awokened." I used to say this; WA24, Awoken. 1971 Bright Word Geog. CA & NV 206, / woke up early woke up 73% awakened 14% awoke 13%. 1975 Allen LA 2.31, [Preterite] awakened, not found at all among Type I infs., is more likely to appear in educated speech. It is scattered in four states but not found in North Dakota. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

UM

.

UM

.

2 past pple: usu

most freq among

awaked, awakened, awoken; also awoke, perh less educ speakers; rarely awokened.

397 MD, We were awoke. ") 'Every night this week I've 21 Infs, scattered, Awoke. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 31% were coll-educ; of those giving this response, none was coll-educ.]; MN34, Awokened. 1969 Amer. Heritage Diet. 1441/1, The preferred past participle of awake is awaked, not awoke: He had awaked several times earlier in the night. 1975 DARE File Chicago IL, The woman was awokened (by hearing a would-be assailant).

awar

DARE (Qu.

adj [Scots: see

0032,

.

to Louisville

.

SND awaur,

awaar, awar]

Aware.

medium-sized shrub (Piper methysticum) with green jointed stems and heart-shaped leaves, the root of which was used in a drink and as medicine.

.

is

awaha See auwaha n awake v (Note: Because awake, awaken, wake and woken are now used interchangeably, determination of the underlying root

A

98,

HI

sour, brackish]

DARE

1967

1965-70

adv sSC,

.

awa 'a See auwaha n awa-awa adj [Haw 'awa'awa,

1816 (1936) Mercer Baltimore

-a

Indeed, to be sure. 1867 Allen Slave Songs xxv eSC, A w, a kind of expletive, equivalent to "to be sure," as, "Dat clot' cheap." "Cheap aw." "Dat Monday one lazy boy." "Lazy aw I 'bleege to lick 'em." 1922 Gonzales Black Border 288 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Aw a queer word, sometimes used instead of "fuh true;" meaning, it is true, in truth.

1

.

.

Std senses, var forms.

.

avenue n Usu

.

wake

1942 ME Univ. Studies 56.75, The order to start up the capstan was heave ahead; to stop, was avast heaving or simply avast or 'vast. [Footnote:] Fig Stop talking or exerting an effort. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 26 ME, Cape Cod, Long Island, Avast ... An old term, only occasionally heard, and then in abbreviated form: '"Vast!"

-aw See

largest for

very large.

.

somewhat old-fash Hold it! Stop!

average

— the

any Hawaiian herring-like fish. 1967 May Fl/4, Awa— Milk fish. Good for baking. Steam. And for making fishcakes. 1971 Pukui- Elbert Hawaiian Diet., Awa Milkfish Stages of growth are pua awa (puawa), young; awa-'aua, medium size; awa, commercial size; awa-kalamoho, at least 3 feet

Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI) 31

[aevlaenc].

.

.

.

,

.

.

>

awa n 2 [Haw] HI The milkfish (Chanos chanos) common throughout much of the tropical Pacific.

1960 Gosline- Brock Hawaiian Fishes 97, The awa attains a length of

1926 awar,

Kephart .

.

Highlanders 362 sAppalachians, everyday expressions of the backwoods.

Afore,

atwixt,

away adv

—

Far in time or space from the speaker used as an intensifies 1882 Sweet & Knox Texas Siftings 45 (DA), Lawler shot a deer, away back in 1840, on the spot where the capitol now stands. 1906 DN3. 125 nwAR, It happened some time away back yonder. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA. 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, Away years back. 1958 Blasingame Dakota Cowboy 82 SD, He's a rough-gaited old sonovabuck, but he'll take you away over yonder and bring you back again! cl960 Wilson csKY, Away Coll. Intensifier, meaning much, somewhat, a lot Away back, away below, away down, away up. 1969 DARE(Qu. ") Inf NC67, Away A24, "He's been hot-tempered from 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

back.

2 In or

from a location other than that of the speaker.

Cf

away n 1966

cow

DARE Tape

feed away;

it

NC60, We'd buy our corn an' our hominy would be ground and sent here.

an' our

away n [From away adv] Any place other than the place considered home. Cf away adv 2 1888 Boston Journal 6 Nov 1/4 (DA), It is rumored that capitalists from are making an effort to establish an industry in Rockland. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Folks from away. cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural GA seGA, "He's from away" can refer to someone who lives either

away

aways

109

1975 Gould

a few miles or hundreds of miles distant.

ME

Lingo,

Away — Any other place. To be from away is to be non-native ... A man who has lived fifty years in your town and paid his taxes faithfully would hardly be called afurriner, and certainly not a pilgrim, but he retain his non-Maine status of being from away.

[OED— 1652,

aways adv

"Obs.

will

Cfwaysn

"]

1944 ADD cPA, Right aways ... By those who speak no the "The mail box is just German. 1968 DARE (Qu. MM4, pine tree. ") Inf IN5, A piece aways from. in

.

.

away yonder adv Pronc-spp way yander, way yonder by a considerable margin. we'd be 1895 DN 1 .375 eTN, I reckon if we know'd all we know now, ahead of 'em way vander. 1908 ZW3.288 eAL, wGA, He's away yonder 3.406 nwAR, Way yonder. 1951 PADS 1 5.52 ahead of me. 1909 IN, He's away yonder bigger'n me. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. Far;

.

.

DN

awda See ought awe See ewe aweary

adj [a inert vowel 6

+

.

.

[awiri].

awendaw

Also sp owenda(w), SE, esp SC old-fash

n, also attrib |'o-in,do, a'wendal

Amlnd; Awendaw, town

in seSC]

A spoonbread generally made from hominy as well as corn meal. 1847 (1979) Rutledge Carolina Housewife 20, Owendaw Corn Bread. Take about two tea-cups of hommony, and while hot mix with it a very It has the and lastly, half pint of corn meal large spoonful of butter appearance, when cooked, of a baked batter pudding, and when rich, and well mixed, it has almost the delicacy of a baked custard. 1932 (1946) Hibben Amer. Regional Cookery 1 6 MD, Owenda Bread. 1949 Brown Amer. Cooks 754 SC, Owendaw bread [made from hominy grits, corn meal, eggs, and milk]. 1955 PADS 23.46 Charleston SC, [In a list of 1958 Francis Structure of Amer. relic forms] Awendaw 'spoonbread.' .

.

.

.

.

524 seSC, Awendaw ['o-in,do] 'spoonbread, soft corabread'. (Qu. H14, Bread that's made with cornmeat) Inf SC4. Awendaw ['o-m,dD] is spoonbread, one made with a lot of milk and eggs. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 44 AL, TN, The soft, It's soft and baked. mushy forms of this bread are first spoon bread and second batter bread. Awendaw bread may have a wider actual usage than the questionnaire Engl.

DARE

discovered simply because informants did not recognize their pronunciation [awenda] in that spelling. [Author corrects this to [a'wenda] in personal communication, Dec 1977.] 1983 NeufTer-Neuffer Correct Mispronc. 7 seSC, Awendaw is the corn capital of Christ Church Parish, though the yield is not always used for the famed Awendaw cornbread (some even report their crop yield as so many gallons per acre).

awful adj 1 Ugly. [Prob absol, from awful ugly] NEng somewhat oldfash 1815 Humphreys Yankey in England 103 NEng [Glossary], Awful. ugly. 1816 Pickering Vocab. 42, In New England many people would

a disagreeable medicine, awful; an ugly

woman;

.

.

This word, however,

is

woman, an

an/~w/-looking

never used except in conversation,

from being so common in the sea-ports now, as it was some years ago. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT, Awful 1926 DN ugly, disagreeable. 5.376 CT.

and

is

awfulitis See

-itis

A great

deal, a large amount. seems to be 1945 AmSp 20.73, The curious idiom, an awfully lot growing more common. One hears it from both educated and uneducated speakers ... I have happened to observe it only in Kansas, but among those using it there has been at least one Texan. Evidently we have here an example of 'genteel false grammar.' Some one, having been pushed that supposed elegance a step instructed to say awfully good farther. 1980 DARE File scWI, There's an awfully lot of them goin" .

.

.

.

around.

awhile now adv phr [PaGer alleweil)\xsx now] At once, immediately. 1935 AmSp 10.167 sePA, Shall we go awhile now inert

vowel

.

.

?

1

far

.

.

2 Excellent, good. Hence superl awful(l)est, best. (Cf -est) [Absol, from awful good] sAppalachians 1931 Hannum Thursday April %2 \VV Mts, "Son," she said, "efn you'll l'arn to pick that banjo proper and sing, I'll buy you a silk handercher'," knowing well that a silk handkerchief was the awfulest thing on earth to a child. He did not say anything, but his black eyes flashed with delight at the promise. 1939 Hall Coll. eTN, Awfullest Best. "He was the awfullest singer ever I heard." 1956 Hall Coll. wNC, His gran'-daddy was an awful hunter; he hunted bear a lot. .

.

.

foil by infin: Very much inclined, very likely or prone. [Perh from awful bad: see bad adj B4 quots 1 960, 1 968] Sth, S Midi

3

See also easy adj 3 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, Be awful

A-wiper n euphem =ass-wiper. 1968 DARE (Qu.

1134, If you think somebody is trying to use you to his ") Inf VA1 1, A-wiper. advantage: "I'm not going to be his

awkward

Usu

adj

I'okwa^d, 'ak-| occas I'oka^dl, and. in Pronc-spp awk'ard, ocred

areas, |'okwad|

MA

'.

awluz See always

awn

v

n,

(To) yawn. 1950 WELS 'Opening your mouth when

To have

a habit (of doing

some-

sleepy) 6 Infs. VVI,

i

Awn.

awoke, awoken, awokened See awake

iawomen corner n

[By facetious analogy with amen corner] csKY, Awomen corner ... A humorous creation to match the amen corner in the church; men and women, except courting couples, sat on opposite sides of the church. cl960 Wilson

Coll.

filled

or covered with small creatures in a state of

restless activity.

1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 70, The seine was awork with The bacon was all awork with the skippers.

fish

.

.

.

EDD ax sb.

ax n [ME eax;

An

1 ]

Nth Also

called ex

n

axle.

LANE Map 1 88 nwMA, Names for the wagon axle were incidenrecorded in connection with the verb grease [aeks]. Ibid nwVT, [waegan aeks]. 1939 FWP Guide 249 (as of 1894), A "dead ax" wagon was sent 10 miles to borrow a small organ. 1950 WELS 3 Infs. WI. Ax. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. L48, The part of a wagon that goes crosswise underneath and has a wheel at each end) 1 1 Infs, Nth, Ax; 1939

tally

.

.

.

MT

.

CA87, Wagon

ax

v.

.

ax.

ax'd, axe,

axed See ask

A

axel-tree See axle-tree

ax-handle n 1

Orig

among

loggers: a unit

of measurement, esp of width.

often facetious

[1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 94 IN, The entire structure was twenty feet square, as measured by an axe-handle.] 1947 Felton Paul Bunyan 95. The Great Blue Ox Babe His size is rather a matter of doubt, some people holding that he was twenty-four ax-han.

.

.

to.

r-less

Std senses, var forms. 1813 (1939) Hartsell Memora 1 15 PA, Some five in a platoon which made the motions quite ocred. 1894 Riley Armazindy 54 IN, He's jes' a great, big, awk'ard, hulkin / Feller. 1903 DN2.29 1 Cape Cod (as of 1 850s), Awkard= awkward. 1931 PME4 46. 1 3 1 8 sAppalachians, B is elided in several words: "awkard." "Edard." "backards." 1941 L.4NE Maps 462. 463, throughout NEng, [okwad]. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 88. f'ok^d]. 1966 Wilson Coll. csKY, ['oka^d]. 1970 DARE (Qu. HH21) Inf NJ69. fak^d].

awork adj Aswarm,

awerdenty See aguardiente

call

.

aw'inge See orange

1941 LANE Map 479 (Tired) cME, Aweary [swi-ar*]. 1968 DARE "I'm very tired, at the end of my strength. ") Inf GA33, I'm (Qu. X47,

1966

.

.

.

Ibid,

a-widowed See a

weary]

Weary.

[Prob

and he was awful to find snakes." 1956 "Had an old dog He's awful to tell stories. 1965-69 DARE (Qu. GG8, When a person is very easily offended: "Be careful what you say to him, he's ") Infs MS63, TN30, Awful to take exception. thing)

awfully lot n [Hyperurbanism; see quot 1945]

Away. 1934

ax-handle

/

.

.

.

.

.

1

ax-handle party

ayuh

/

110

and a plug of tobacco wide between the

dies

—

eyes.

1958 McCulloch

Woods Words 4 Pacific NW, Ax handle a. The width of the back of a school marm's lap. b. A unit of measure shorter than a whoop and a 1967-68 DARE (Qu. X50, holler. A person who is very fat) Inf WA30, Four ax-handles across; WI47, Five ax-handles acrost. 1975 Newell If Nothin' Don't Happen 126 nwFL, Goin Henry were, I do believe, the strongest man I ever seen Goin were about two ax .

.

.

.

.

handles long and must of weighed close to two

fifty.

2 usu in pi, also wild ~ flying ~: Diarrhea. Nth joe 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. BB 1 9, Joking names for looseness of the bowels) Inf NH 1 4, Ax-handles [laughter]; C033, The wild ax-handle ("you can't control"); NY92, Flying ax-handles; NY219, Flying ax-handles lumberjacks used to say. 1976 Yankee Oct 56, 1 found a letter from an uncle who was mate on a ship out of Boston in August 1869. While on shore

—

"We are all pretty well, only troubled with 'The Flying Axehandle' some." What was that? G.M. Answer: Same as logus of the bogus, or backyard trot, griping of the gizzard.

leave he wrote

.

.

NEng

ay

~

chiefly Nth, esp

.

Usu

in negative contexts: a single word, a straight answer, a statement of one's position. 1898 Westcott Harum 363 nNY, "Yes, I do," declared Mr. Harum, "an' my notion's this, an' don't you say aye, yes, nor no till I git through." 1910 ZW3.458 Chicago IL [Among "People of New England

Antecedents"], Ay, yes or no, "He wouldn't answer, ay, yes, or no" 1914 4. 102 KS, You can't get aye, yes or no out of them about the matter. 1929 AmSp 2.129 ME, He never said aye, yes or no. 1957 Eaton Coll. cIL, I never said aye, yes, or no. 1975 Gould Lingo 38, asked him how he stood on the matter, and he didn't give me an aye, yes, .

.

DN

ME

nor no!

A3

ayfter See after

.

ax-handle party n

CfD5Y12b,

loggers: a brawl. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NXV,Ax handle party— A using ax handles, clubs, or any other wooden weapon.

ax-held n [Folk-etym, prob

infl

by ax helve

[EDD

intj

1952 Brown

(yes), surprise, grief

Yks."]

.

wNC, ^y-/a [ai-la, .

.

-lae]

.

.

.

Exclamation

Old persons. Rare.

.

ayont, "Sc.

Irel.

and

the n. counties to

all

obs

1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 433 IN, whare Bill fust seed the wolf or fox.

ayonder See a .

old-fash 1.517

Beyond.

+ held past tense of

An

.

1877]

NC Folkl.

ayond prep [EDD fight

old-fash

ax-handle. 1966 DARE FW Addit cNC, Ax-held

ay-la

of assent

13

Among

hold]

aye, yes or no n Also aye, yes nor no,

Used by countryman, very

inert

Strate

ayond

is

near about

vowel 4

Ayrab See Arab n

old-fashioned.

ax-helm n [Prob

An

ayraba See arabber alter

of ax- helve]

ayuh

ax-handle.

1939 Hench Coll. VA, Two fellow teachers, both Virginians, said today customary name for an ax-handle is "ax helm." They added that they might consider "ax helve" more correct but that it was not their that their

adv,

axle-dope See dope n

1

somewhat

DN

.

.

Hist. Diet.

.

See also axle-grease v

2 Hairdressing.

1969 DARE (Qu. K.K38, To put preparations on the hair to hold it close head and make it shiny) Inf CA1 14, Put axle-grease on. 1970 Major Afro- A mer. Slang, Axle grease: any stiff pomade for the hair.

to the

old-fash

See also 1943

wCT, Ea:

1.341

heard

Inf

PA

1

hishairdown

.

18, Axle-grease.

axle-tree n Also sp axel-tree, axl-tree

[OED

—»1862]

some-

axle; also

1634

in

1

867

fig. 1

.94,

One grind-stone with

iron

MD

Green VA Folk-Speech, Axletree

...

A wooden beam

on which

cart-

wheels turn. 1929 ( 1 95 1 ) Faulkner Sartoris 3 1 2 MS, We never got to town Axle tree broke just this side of Vernon. 1950 WELS2 Infs, WI, Axle-tree. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. L48) Inf AL34, Axle-tree; GA22, Axle,

.

.

some

calls

axt v See ask

it

the

.

.

pronunciation of it is ['aeja] or ['aeja], but there are many [another] is ['ja]. 1957 Beck Folkl. variations. One extreme is ['e:ja] 134, "Frankie, I got news foah yew." "Eyah?" "Frankie; we're Other words like "yes") 40 Infs, aground." 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. chiefly NEng, nNY, Ayuh; NY 108, Ayup; NY 163, A-yeh; (Qu. XI 8) [Of all Infs Inf CT27, [e'JA]; KS2, [ea] I don't say that, though. responding to Qu. NN1, 62% were old; of those giving these responses, is pre1.387 ceSD, Ay-a [*eja] 79% were old.] 1973 Allen speaker whose parents were born in Vermont served in the speech of a Lingo 38, Ayeh Or, Eyah, and Massachusetts. 1975 Gould The one word upon the entire face of the globe only true Ayuh Mainers can say and use properly. It means "yes" or some variant thereof, and substitutes for the affirmative in a great variety of inflec.

"axle-tree."

A2a

axt n [ax + excr t, perh infl by Ger Axt ax] 1916 DN 4319 KS, Ml, Axt ..Ax. .

ay chihuahua See chihuahua

intj

aye, aye god, aye gonnies, aye jallus See

.

ME

NN

1 ,

—

LAUM

.

this

NH Prov. & State Papers

.

.

588

common

.

.

i

prep

.

.

—

.

1975

DARE File nME,

7/ 1 Martha's Vineyard

handle and axltree. 1770 in 1917 Hist. Mag. 12.353, 1 shall send with a Carriage, that is upon an Axel tree. 1844 Thompson thm Major Jones's Courtship 80 GA, It seemed to me that the axeltree of the world wanted greasin or something or other was out o' fix. 1899 (1912) .

LANE Map

in Massachusetts about ten years ago; not heard recently. 1944 Adams Canal Town 22 nNY, "Plenty of night-mist rising?" "Ayah. All through the valley." 1945 Partridge January Thaw 64 CT, Ayuh-ayuh, that's just the way I heard it before. 1948 AmSp 23.310, The word ayuh is found primarily in the state of Maine. The most

tions.

what old-fash

An

Pronc-spp aaay-

ME

axle-grease v [axle-grease n 2] \96%DARE{Q\\. KK38, "I wish he wouldn't so. ")

ai(j)a|

[ea, ea, ea] (dissyllabic

.

.

I'aeja,

Common

Amer. Slang, Pa says that last oleomargarine I got here is nothing but axle grease.] 1928 Ruppenlhal (army) butter. 1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Axle Coll. KS, Axle grease One of the many slang terms for butter. 1 944 Adams Western grease. Words. 1950 Sun (Baltimore MD) 3 Jul 7/ 1 (Hench Coll.), Millions of dollars were wasted on such nontested foods as the "axle grease" butter which sent soldiers choking and cussing from Guam to Great Britian. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, [Among loggers].

—

also

word yes (pron. [jis]) is used, but much and barytone) very rarely with a 1917 DA'4.387neOH,^/a/?[e3]. ..Yes. 1920 DN 5.16, Aiah.

is

finalp.

Butter or margarine. [71883 Peck in 1980 Lighter

|'e(j)3|,

+

oftener

axle-grease n joe

Usu

OED

Yes. 1894

natural word.

intj

yuh, aiah, ay-a(h), a-yeh, ayup, ea, eyah [Prob aye yes yes or yea; cf yea etym note] chiefly NEng, nNY See Map

Aiah

[ai(j)a( 7 )].

1977 UpCountry July

MA, The islanders themselves are not guiltless in

promotional put-on [concerning "secession"] ...

I

have witnessed

9

ayuntamiento

111

A (To a fellow islander in exaggerated "Walp, goin' over to America Thursday to get my damn teeth fixed agin' " Islander B: "Ayup." 1979 Capital Times (Madison WI) 20 July 39, Then there's the odd-sounding reply made by a "chummy" after you have made a statement that calls for some response: "Aaay-yuh." This, of course, means yes or "I understand," and probably derives from the nautical term aye, which was used by seamen to show compliance to a command. several scenes like this: Islander

Old

Salt accent

.

):

.

ayuntamiento n [Span] SW now hist A town council; an administrative body formed by an alcalde and counsellors. 1833 (1847) Lundy Life & Travels 45 TX, It [=Gonzales TX] has its 1852 in 1858 Dewees Letters TX two years from the date of concession, the colonists should not have cultivated his land ... the respective Ayuntamientos can grant it to another. 1899 Land of Sunshine Apr 241, The Ayuntamiento (town council) had appropriated $500 for the school. 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms 96, Ayuntamiento occurs frequently in writings concerned with the settlement and government of the early Southwest and was fairly well naturalized at one time. Its use in current spoken English regular ayuntamiento, alcalde &c. 140, If after

.

is

ay,

.

.

diminishing.

TX

sometimes built in successive tiers, one above another; the azoteas of the lower ones forming the yard of those above. 1850 Garrard Wah-lo-yah 227 The spectators on the azoteas seemed scarcely to move. 1899 Harper's Weekly 27 May 523 NYC, Above all is an azotea commanding such a superb view [of New York] that it is in imminent danger of being called the 'Roof Garden.' 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms 96 SW, particularly for coolness in The azotea is used as an open-air retreat the evenings ... In the absence of a suitable English word azotea will doubtless maintain a place in the English of the Southwest where it is widely used at present. 1968 Adams Western Words. ',

.

.

azoturia n

Usu

Std sense, var forms. 1950 WELS (Some common diseases of horses) 2 1

aznaburgh See osnaburg

— — something to do with the kidneys: IL1 Aciteria — kidney MI83. Aciteria NY163, — from too much pro— indigestion; OH95, 1,

infection:

[.aesita'rija]:

PA201. Azituri

[^esta'ria]

[aezi'turi];

A switch,

or whip; see also quot 1934. 1892 DA' 1 .244 TX, Azote: a switch, or anything used as a whip. 1934 (1975) Mawson Diet. Foreign Terms, Azote a switch; whip; in Texas, .

anything used as a whip;

A

flat

.

Fig., calamity.

chiefly

SW

roof of a house or other building, esp of one built in the

Mexican -Spanish

style.

PA141,

Acituria;

DS BB

VA68,

[.aesta'ria].

1

1953 Sherman Aztec Two-Step [Title]. 1962 Shepard Forgive Us 6, tablets to discourage the Aztec twoThere was kaopectate, Seconal, 1972 Des Moines Register (IA) 18 June, Montezuma's restep. venge Aztec two-step ... In simpler terms it is It's also known as the traveler's upset stomach. Three government doctors warn about the use of a widely recommended remedy. .

SVV

1

—

Aztec two-step n joe Cf two-step and Upset stomach and diarrhea.

azituri See azoturia

aci-

Infs, YVI, Astoria;

Inf. Asteria.

[.asza^'ija]

tein feed;

azetonemia See acetonemia

azotea n [Span]

Pronc-spp

1967-70 DARE (Qu. K47, What diseases do horses or mules commonly get around here?) Inf IN80. Asteria comes from a bump like a boil, horse usually gets bumps from lifting from feeding them too much; MI87. limb of a tree; NY230, Asteria Inf, Asatoria;

Aseria

azabecker See asarabacca

azote n [Span]

.

For varr see quots

leza'turial

.

teria, acituria, asatoria, aseria, asteria, astoria, azituri

[^ess'tiria]

aye, yes or no

azzle

1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 291 I perceived the azotea of the parochial church occupied by armed men. Ibid 294, The houses are

Asteria [^esta'rija]

yes or no See

/

.

.

.

azzle See arsle

.

.

.

.

A2

'b See brother

baa-baa

n, also attrib

Also baa-a-ah

West sometimes

[Imit]

derisive

A sheep.

babiche n Pronc-spp babeesh, babish [CanFr, from Algonquian apapish cord, thread; DCan 806 —] Nth, esp AK Thong material, or thread made of raw hide. 1887 895) Robinson Uncle Lisha 3 wVT, You git ye some babeesh an' I'll give ye tew sides o' sole luther. 1948 Sat. Eve. Post 2 Aug 72/4 AK, No screws or nails are used at the joints, but babiche instead rawhide thongs. 1974 Osip Tanning Moosehide and Making Babish and Rawmane 31 (Tabbert Coll.) AK, The lighter softer line is the true babish. It is usually made from caribou skin Babish is used for the lacing and netting of snowshoes, the lashings on small sleds, making bow strings. 1 98 1 Tabbert Coll. AK, Babish is French Canadian babiche, but 1

(

1

1

1

1924 Marks Plastic Age 87, Nine tenths of them [=male students at a college] wore "baa-baa coats," gray jackets lined with sheep's wool. Ibid 196, They pulled on their baa-baa coats and left the room chattering. 1931 AmSp 6.357 West, An efficient shepherd not only knows the exact amount of wages coming to him, but also the approximate number of his "woollies" or "baa-baas." 1944 Adams Western Words, Baa-a-ah The cowboy's contemptuous name for sheep. If you want to start a fight, just blat this at a cowboy.

—

—

.

.

.

usually pronounced here /baebis/.

babies' breath See baby's breath

baachie See backsie babies' feet n Also baby('s) feet, babies' toes, baby('s) toes [From the shape and color of the blossoms] NEng

B-A-Ba SeeA-B-Ab

baba n [OED baba 1 "an

infantile variant of papa"]

A grandfather. See also bapa 1967-68 DARE (Qu. Z3) Inf OH2, Baba;GA28, Baba Used by Infs grandchildren]. 2 A grandmother. 1969 DARE (Qu. Z4) Inf CT34, Baba, nanna. 1

.

[baba]

— [FW:

.

Da

Kine Talk 103 HI, Babai:

"girl" or

"woman".

baban n

A

grandmother. also babbler, bawl v

1

1,

father's

mother.

boo v

.

.

.

—

babies' slippers n Also baby('s) slippers [From the shape of the flower] 1 =fringed polygala. baby's slippers. W. 1893 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 6. 140, Polygala paucifolia Mass. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 298, Babies'-slippers. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 6, Baby's Slippers: Polygala pauciflora. .

,

dogs: to bark confusedly while running in a pack. 1967 DARE Tape LA3, You don't want 'em barking out of place or just babbling down the road, as they call it; you know, barking behind [other]

Of hunting

dogs.

2 =bird s-foot trefoil (here: Lotus corniculatus). 1961 W3, Babies'-slippers. 1965 Teale Wandering Through Winter 50, All across Texas, a host of names have been bestowed on the wild to baby slippers. plants. They run from angel's trumpet 1

.

.

.

.

babies' toes See babies' feet

babbler n [babble + -er, OED-+ 1735] A hound that bays before picking up the scent. 1937 Sun (Baltimore MD) 9 Nov 17/5 TN (Hench Coll.), "Babblers", exasperating hounds that voice their deep throated cries even when they smell nothing. 1958 Hull Amer. Fox-Hunting 190, Babbler— A hound that cries "fox!" when there is no fox. 1966 DARE Tape DC9, In fox when a hound speaks, they only speak when they're on a fox. hunting If they do [speak when they are not on a fox] you get rid of 'em because .

that's

.

.

.

1972 McCormick Vocab. Hill, Baban: mother's or

babble v See

.

.

—

babai n [Tagalog] 1972 Carr

=fringed polygala. Polygala pauciflora. 1891 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 4.148 NH, Baby-feet 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.94, Polygala paucifolia, babies' feet. N.H. Babies' toes, Hubbardston, Mass. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 6, Baby's Toes: Polygala pauciflora. 1966 Baby Toes Baby's Feet DARE (Qu. S26e) Inf MA6, Fringed polygala baby-toes magenta and white (rare). 1967 DARE FW Addit MA5, Baby toes— fringed polygala. 1983 DARE File c, cnMA, Baby-toes.

.

what you

call

a babbler that just throws his tongue around, you

babine See baboune babish See babiche

baboon owl n =barn owl 1

KS 293,

These birds, from their peculiar facial or "Monkey-faced" Owl. 1955 AmSp the 30. 1 80 KS, With a facial disk distinctive both in color and shape often shortened to barn owl is very generally called monkey-faced owl, baboon owl. monkey-face, and varied to 1891 Goss Hist. Birds

disk, are

known as the "Baboon"

.

.

know, without actually being on a

scent.

babe n Sth somewhat

baboune n Also babine

.

.

carried into adult .

Used

as a pet

for a lad.

The

babeesh See babiche blankets n pi Cf pigs in blankets have been breaded and deep fried. ?Clams that in their

1946 Peattie Pacific Coast 240, For the less gregarious there were clams raw clams, stewed clams, baked clams, and "babes in their at home

—

blankets."

Fr settlement areas

1969 Cagnon Franco- Amer. Terms 223 RI, Baboune "Did you hurt your little babounes?"

life.

name

youngest son, though grown, is often called the baby. 1976 DARE File wNC (as of c 19 18), Babe— a. pet name for a boy. In the South it often precedes the family name, as in Babe Johnson, Babe Brown, etc.

babes

[Fr babine lip]

1 usu pi babounes: Lips.

old-fash

A pet name for a boy, often 1915 DN 4.180 VA, Babe

,

.

.

Babdist See Baptist

.

.

Lips

.

.

.

.

.

[baboun]

.

A pouting expression. (Cf DCan) 1967 LeCompte Word Atlas 341 seLA, A look of displeasure ... ba1969 Cagnon standard French. bine. [Footnote:] Babine (pout) Franco- Amer. Terms 223 RI, "Don't make a babounelike that" = don't pout that way. 2

.

.

babowa n [Minorcan]

A dullard. 1950

PADS

14.81

neFL,

Many of their descendants

expressions peculiar to their dull-witted, stupid person.

own group

.

.

.

employ certain babowa [ba'bauwa] ... A .

.

Babtiss

113

Babtiss, Babtist See Baptist

CA20, CA31, Baby bluein pale blue and white, black speckling; CA79, Baby blue-eyes eyes hillsides; IL135, Baby blue-eyes has small blue flowers; WA30, Baby blue-eyes— doesn't grow here. 1967 DARE Wildfl QR P1.28a Inf TX34, Baby blue-eyes; P1.209b Inf WA30, Baby blue-eyes. e)InfsCA12, Baby blue-eyes

d.

babushka n Also bambushka, busha, bushka [Russ "grandmother"] chiefly Nth See Map Also called immigrant shawl

A

head-scarf, esp a triangular one tied under the chin. 1945 New Leader (Richmond VA) 2 Aug 4/3 (Hench Coll.) Hollywood CA, This headpiece [shapka] is a cross between a "babushka" and a snood. 1950 WELS (A square cloth that women fold and tie over their [by] country kids, my heads) 23 Infs, WI, Babushka; 1 Inf. Babushka within last ten or twelve years; Inf, daughters tell me; Inf, Babushka Babushka and satka by older people in [the] community; 1 Inf, Bambushka; 1 Inf, Bushka or headscarf. 1965-70 Z).4/?£(Qu.W3) 139 Infs, chiefly sNEng, Inland Nth, Babushka; MI 108, Babushka, busha 1

—

—

1

1

[ba'buska, 'buss].

baby carriage

/

—

Baby

101, 115. 140, 144, 150, 162,

—a

blue-eye(s);

five-petal, pale, tiny blue flower;

—

baby breath See baby's breath baby buggy n

chiefly west of

Appalachians See

Map Cfbaby

cab, baby coach also buggy: =baby carriage 1. A, Baby-buggy. 1904 DN 2.4 1 6 nwAR, Put Willie in 896 DN 1.411 the baby-buggy. 1947 NYT Mag. 1 2 Oct 26/3 NYC, A bunch of baby buggies are parked in front. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 77, West of the Alleghenies. baby buggy [predominates]. Baby buggy is current also in Ohio and on the lower Kanawha in West Virginia. 1950 WELS 20 Ink, can WI, Baby buggy. 1965-70 DARE {Qu. N42, Vehicles a baby lie down in) 442 Infs, throughout US, but chiefly west of Appalachians, Baby buggy; 43 Infs, throughout US, but chiefly west of Appalachians, Buggy. 1970 Tarpley Blinky 107 neTX, For 64% of the informants, a vehicle used to push the baby in is a buggy; for 24% of them, it is a 1

W

1

.

.

.

.

carriage.

2 also buggy: =baby carriage 2. 1950 WELS 1 Inf, seWI, Baby buggy. has to sit up Vehicles a small child .

.

.

.

DARE (Qu.

1965-70 in)

20

Infs,

N43, Babv buggv; Infs

AL32, GA28, IL89. M035, NY156. OH67, OK13, WV2, Buggy. 3 See quot. 1942 Henry High Border 326 nRocky Mts, The expectant ewe throws up her head twice, whereupon the men on watch push a "baby buggy" an arrangement on wheels, into which the ewe and her toward her

—

lamb, or twin lambs, are placed, to be wheeled to shelter.

baby n 1

A

man

or to a

or a sense of community,

man

chiefly

term of address used by a

woman, indicating friendship among Black speakers

to another

1965 Brown Manchild 1 64 NYC, I can say 'baby' to another cat, and he can say 'baby' to me. Ibid 1 65, The real hip thing about the "baby" term was that it was something that only colored cats could say the way it was supposed to be said Only colored cats could give it the meaning that we all knew it had without ever mentioning it the meaning of black masculinity. 1971 Roberts Third Ear [Black], Baby male form of address to another male who is considered to be an intimate friend. 1972 Claerbaut Black Jargon, Baby often used in conversation with another person to refer to him: You got it, baby friend; pal. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 62, In the Black Semantic sense it [=6a&>'] can be used between men. .

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A cougar. 1946 Peattie Pacific Coast 89, Several frequenters of the outdoors swear that this varmint [=the cougar] at night may shriek, or cry like a baby in fact, a slang name for the cougar is "baby." 2

—

3 in phr not to buy clothes for the baby and varr: Not to be accomplishing one's task or getting one's work done, esp Sth 1898 Lloyd Country Life 90 AL, Patriotism is a good thing, I reckon, in its right and proper place, but it wont pay the store account nor buy a new frock for the baby. 1929 AmSp 4.465 Nth, This won't buy the baby's shoes This won't buy a dress for the baby or pay for the one it has on. 1937 S. Folkl. Qrly. 1.91 SC, This isn't buying shoes for the baby Said when one turns from idling to work. 1946 PADS 6.34 neNC, Well, this ain't buying the baby any clothes (shoes). (Well, I must be going; I have a little work to do.) 1950 PADS 1 3.20 cTX, This ain't making the baby any clothes. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.364, This isn't making the baby's coat or twiging [sic] the kiln. 1969 DARE (Qu. Y 9, To begin to go away from a place) Inf MI 03, This isn't buying the baby .

.

.

.

.

(Qq. N42, N43)

•baby buggy + var

baby bumpers n pi joe A woman's breasts. 1968

DARE (Qu.

X31) Inf OH82, Baby bumpers.

baby button n joe The navel. 1968

DARE (Qu.

X34) Inf CT6, Baby button.

baby cab n Also cab 1 =baby carriage 1.

chiefly

N Cent

.

1

1

any shoes.

Baby carriage. 1949 Kurath WordGeog. Ohio baby cab stands by the side of babv buggy and babv carriage. 1950 WELS Inf, seWI, Baby cab; 3 Infs, Cab. 1962 PADS 38.59, Words receding in the Midland dialect area of northern Illinois baby cab. 1962 Salisbury Quoth the Raven 3 AK, The long plank walk makes use of the baby cabs possible. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. N42, Vehicles can lie down in) Infs a baby IA1 1. IL32. IN69, 73, 83, MI81, 106, OH56, Baby cab. 1973 Allen L.1UM 1.341, Baby cab survived the Midland migration westward, but its low vitality outside Iowa hints at a current decline. 1901 DA'2.137 MI, Cab

.

.

.

11, In the southeastern counties of

1

.

1

.

.

1

.

baby blue-eyes n

A

pi,

but sg or pi in constr

chiefly Pacific

plant of the genus Nemophila, but esp the western N. menwhich is also called baby eyes, bluebell Id, California

ziesii

bluebell.

For names of other spp see five-spot and flannel

breeches 1887 Overland Mth. Aug

we should have seen

.

.

=baby

2

1969 1

52/1

CA, Then

if

we could have been

there,

the "baby blue eyes" (nemophila). 1932 Austin Earth Horizon 2 5 CA, Baby-blue-eyes for nemophila was tourist [=a tourist word]. 1946 Peattie Pacific Coast 52 CA, There it may be that baby blue-eyes cover the ground. 1967-70 DARE (Qq. SI 1,23, 26b, 1

.

.

.

.

.

carriage 2.

DARE (Qu.

N43, Vehicles

.

.

a small child

.

.

has to

sit

up

in) Inf

IL32, Baby cab.

baby carriage n Also carriage widespread, but least freq in West See Map Also called baby buggy, ~ cab, ~ cart, ~ coach, ~ wagon 1

A

vehicle for an infant or small child in

which

it

lies

down.

—

.

baby cart

/

baby hole

114

A

young girl pushing a 1870 Alcott Old-Fashioned Girl 260 MA, baby-carriage looked round. 1882 Howells Modern Instance 277 MA, Bartley pushed Flavia about the sunny pavements in a baby carriage. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 77, Baby 1896 1 .4 1 1 NY, Baby-carriage. carriage is the regular term ( 1 ) in the New England settlement area from

DN

Erie and (2) in the Southern states. 1950 WELS 1 5 Infs, can a baby (Baby) carriage. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. N42, Vehicles lie down in) 503 Infs, widespread, but least freq in West, Baby carriage; 87 Infs, widespread, but least freq in West, Carriage.

Maine to Lake

.

2

A

.

which

vehicle for an infant or a small child in

.

.

it sits

up; a

stroller.

1965-70Z>AR£'(Qu.N43,

has to sit up in) NY1, 88, SC9, Addit sLA, Baby carriage— in63, VA59, Carriage. 1967 DARE fant vehicle with three wheels, in which the child must sit up. Vehicles

.

16 Infs, scattered, Baby-carriage; Infs

.

a small child

AR47, M04,

.

.

35,

FW

1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Baby-clouts

.

.

The

.

clothes used

for swaddling babies.

baby coach n Also coach 1 =baby carriage 1

chiefly

DN

ePA, sNJ, DE,

MD

See

Map

NY

1896 1903 1 .4 1 1 NJ, Baby-coach. Times (NY) 1 Oct 3 NYC, English Baby Coaches The carriages are a distinctly English idea they dub them "Perambulators." We've just imported a hundred from one of the foremost makers. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 77, Within the Philadelphia trade area, that is, in Delaware, in southern New Jersey, and in southeastern Pennsylvania as far west as the Alleghenies, baby coach predominates. 1950 WELSl Inf, seWI, Baby coach. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. N42) 20 Infs, chiefly DE, MD, NJ, PA, Baby coach; CA147, Baby coach heard; PA27, 88, Coach. 1977-78 Foster Lexical Variation 32 NJ, Baby coach is used by seven of one hundred informants and recognized by two more; it is more common among older informants four of the baby coach responses users are from Mercer [County], one from Cape May, and two, surprisingly, from Hudson; the two recognition responses are from the Philadelphia Suburbs. .

.

.

— .

.

.

2 =baby carriage 2. 1969 DARE (Qu. N43) Inf NC72, Baby coach; PA242, Coach.

•baby carriage

baby cart n 1 =baby carriage

(Qq. N42, N43)

var

+

1.

1940-41 Cassidy WI Atlas, 3 Infs, Baby cart. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. N42) Infs GA74, IN22, MD25, TX35, WI18, Baby cart. 1973 Allen

LAUM

1.341,

Baby

cart

.

.

exists in the

baby coaster n Also =baby carriage 2.

scattered instances.

=baby

carriage 2.

1965-70

DARE (Qu.

2

baby catcher n

N43)

chiefly

15 Infs, scattered,

Baby

Sth

A doctor. Cf baby-snatcher Joking names—for a doctor) 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB53a, AL61, LA8, OKI 1, SC70, Baby catcher. [3 of 4 Infs Black] .

.

Infs

apron had been put on so hastily the bib flapped unpinned on her stomach.

~

settee .

.

.

.

.

.

.

baby-child n Pronc-sp baby-chile [Black], I'm

knowin' Miss

Mimi

ever

2 Transf: see quot. 1980 DARE File swTN (as of 1 944), Babychild (all one word, not two) is the youngest child in the family even if he or she is 50 years old.

baby-clout n, usu pi [baby small child, doll babby-clouts] 1

A

a small child

.

.

has to

sit

up

in) Inf

cradle.

1906 DN 3.125 nwAR, God knows there are more baby-cradles in Arkansas than in any other state. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA. 1952

NC Folkl.

1.517

wNC.

baby elephant See elephant 2

A

baby blue-eyes (here: Nemophila menziesii). we 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 290, When skies are smiling that the baby-eyes have opened in gentle surprise upon the lovely find 1934 Haskin Wild Flowers Pacific Coast 291, Nemophila. world. Nemophila menziesii. Baby-eyes .

.

.

.

.

.

.

A woodland

star (here:

1956 St. John Flora SE

+

clout

n

1

1;

EDD

Cf baby-rags, breechclout

See quot. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Baby-clouts. Baby-clothes. Pieces

Lithophragma bulbifera). Dainty, beloved flower 183, Baby Face

WA

.

.

.

of early spring.

baby feet See

A

baby. 1927 Kennedy Gritny 14 sLA since she was a baby-chile.

.

baby face n

can lie down in) Inf a baby 1966-68 DARE (Qu. N42, Vehicles has to sit up in) a small child VA1, Baby seat; (Qu. N43, Vehicles Inf NC44, Baby chair, stroller; NC48, Baby settee. .

.

Coaster.

baby eyes n

baby-catching apron n Cf baby-catcher 1 An apron worn by a midwife. 1949 Arnow Hunter's Horn 237 ceKY, Her big white baby-catching

1

N43, Vehicles

baby-cradle n

Brown

2

seat,

coaster

M05, Baby coaster; ND1,

A

baby chair n Also baby

DARE (Qu.

1967

cart.

midwife. 1 937 Sandoz Slogum 40 wNE, Soon Gulla Slogum was baby catcher for 1965-70 all the settlers, going from soddy to dugout, in any weather. DARE (Qu. AA30) Infs SCI 9, 26, 55, Baby catcher. [2 of 3 Infs Black] 1

(Qq. N42, N43)

•baby coach + var

U[pper] M[idwest] with three

babies' feet

baby fingers exclam Cf baby up In marble play: see quot 1950. 1950 WELS (Calls used in playing marbles to stop another playerfrom doing something, or to get the right to do something) 1 Inf, seWI, Yell out "Baby fingers!" 1963 AT Folkl. Rec. 9.64 eKY, The command to push or clip the shooter with one finger: Baby fingers.

baby giant n Cf giant cracker

A

kind of medium-sized firecracker. 1965-70 DARE(Q\i. FF14) Infs AR41, TX26, go-cart 4

of stuff of different colours given to children to dress their dolls with.

baby go-cart See

2 See quot.

baby hole See baby-in-the-hole

38, 54, 98,

Baby giants.

-

1

baby house

115

baby house n Nth

A

2

doll's house.

894) Winslow Diary 63 MA, My Papa has promised me, he will my baby house with him. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 52 PA, As neat as a little girl's baby house. 1847 Lanman Summer in Wilderness 1 56 nMI, You happen to see a little girl arranging some rocky specimens in her baby-house. 1870 Alcott Little Women 2. 14 MA, Do you know I like this room best of all in my baby-house. 1970 DARE (QR, near Qu. EE33) Inf 100, [A] doll house [is] called a baby house. 1

772

(

1

MA

of var other plants

A

children's

game played with

1

b also infant 's-breath: A bedstraw, esp Galium mollugo. (and other sp.), mist, 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.90, Galium Mollugo 1900 Lyons Plant Names 167, G. babies' breath, E. Mass. Babies'-breath, Infant's-breath. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Mollugo Wild Flowers 173, The wildmadder [Gallium mollugo] is often called .

.

ball; (Qu. EE33) Inf PA 126, Baby-in-the-air: Also spud.

An

.

its resemblance to the garden flower of that 1961 Smith MI Wildflowers 357, The cultivated Scotch-mist or Baby's-breath, GfaliumJ sylvaticum has the lower leaves in whorls of

8.

the bushes n Also child

ball in the air, try to hit

.

c

~ Cf DS Zl

=ground smoke.

1932 Rydberg Flora Prairies 570, Gayophytum Baby's Breath. 1953 Nelson Plants Rocky Mt. Park 110, Babysbreath ... A muchbranched plant with tiny white flowers which turn to red as they wither Our two species are Gayophytum ramosissimum and .

b

la,

.

[2 infs:]

Baby

in the

bushes

.

.

.

[ 1

inf:]

Child in the bushes.

=hat

1956

ball.

DARE (Qu.

EE33) Inf DC2, Baby-in-the-hat. Everybody put cap down on ground in a row. "It" standing by now with ball walk up and down and tease then drops it in one hat. Owner would grab ball all [players now] run and try to hit any player. If he missed he remained "it"; if he hit [a] player, that one became "it"; PA28, Baby-in-the-cap. 1967

—

— —

—

baby-in-the-hole n Also baby hole Cf bunny-in-the-hole

marbles (or the like) are rolled into one or more holes dug in the ground. 1896 DN 1 .4 csNY, Baby-in-the-hole: The game of roly-poly [played with a ball and small holes in the ground]. 1940 Recreation (NY) 34.1 10, A list of the many games of marbles played throughout the country [includes] Baby in the hole. 1950 WELS (Outdoor games) 1 Inf, ceWI, Baby hole. 1971 AmSp 46.84 Chicago IL, Ball, puck, and tin-can games [include] baby in the hole. 1

.

.

.

Among railroad

workers: a brakeman on a passenger train. 1931 Writer's Digest 1 1.41, Baby Lifter— Passenger brakeman. 1932 Santa Fe Mag. Jan 34/1, A passenger brakeman is a dude or a baby 1946 in 1953 Botkin Treas. Railroad Folk!. 350, The shack lifter. was blowing smoke to the Big-O of the time he was a baby-lifter on the

.

.

John Flora

St.

SE WA

184,

Lithophragma parviflora

.

.

.

Baby's

e =bluet 2 (here: Houstonia spp). Houstonia an1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 6, Baby's breath: gustifolia. 1969 DARE (Qu. SI 1, Other names ..for., bluets) Inf .

.

.

KY47, Baby

.

breath.

A

fameflower. shrub with small 1968 DARE (Qu. S26e) Inf LA17, Baby's breath flowers growing along the limb. 1970 Correll Plants TX 608, Talinum paniculatum Pink baby-breath, rama del sapo.

—

.

.

.

3 A kind of cloud formation. 1967 DARE (Qu. Bl 1) Inf NY34, Baby's breath. 1978 DARE File swAR (as of c 940), Baby's breath. I remember that my mother or one of 1

her

used

sisters

it

to refer to the puffy fog-like clouds that occur in the

Oachita mountains of southwestern Arkansas.

1967

DARE

MA 100,

When my brother started going to baby day he brought home a whole collection of never heard about before. Tape

school, public school, every

things I'd

baby

seat,

baby settee See baby

chair

.

varnish.

A heliotrope PADS

1951

1

1 (here: Heliotropium convolvulaceum). 5.39TX, Heliotropiumconvovulaceum Baby or dwarf .

.

.

.

.

.

Blomquist Flowers South 30, Baby-Pepper [is] seen all year throughout its range from Fla. to Tex. and Ark. Sometimes grown as an ornamental in northern greenhouses. 1960 Vines Trees SW253, Vernacular names are Baby-pepper [etc]. It can be planted as a summer annual and propagated by seeds or cuttings in spring over heat, or by root .

.

.

divisions.

EDD

SND

pi [Cf EDD, babby-rags small bits, Suppl. bab-rags clothes for a doll] Cf baby-clout 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Baby-rags. Small pieces of various kinds of cloth collected by children for their baby-clothes. Dolls'

baby-rags n

.

.

clothes.

baby's breath n Also baby breath, babies' breath 1 A plant of the genus Gypsophila, but esp G. paniculata, a much-branched perennial with panicles of small white or pinkish flowers which is often grown as an ornamental. Also called chalk weed, mist 1895 Gray -Bailey

Botany 75, GfypsophilaJ paniculata Baby's Breath Innumerable very small and delicate white flowers. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 6, Baby's breath: Galium molluga [sic]; Gypsophila (v); Houstonia angustifolia; Muscari botryoides. 1968 DARE (Qu. S26e) Inf IL80, Baby's breath. .

.

n [Cf

OEDS baby's

Field

.

.

.

head a steak (and kidney) pud-

ding]

1900

DN 2.21 CT [College words],

baby slippers See

baby-pepper n [Perh from the red berries] chiefly Gulf States =rouge plant. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 484, RfivinaJ humilis Rouge-plant. Baby-pepper Sometimes known as bloodberry. 1953 Greene .

skull

feet

Baby-skull

.

.

.

Apple dumpling.

.

white, morning-glory.

.

baby's feet See babies'

baby

baby morning-glory n Also dwarf white morning-glory

.

.

.

.

ibaby school n

baby-lifter n

.

.

Breath.

f

A children's game in which

.

.

.

Gayophytum nuttalii. d A woodland star (here: Lithophragma parviflorum).

baby-in-the-hat n Also baby-in-the-cap

A children's game:

.

it.

illegitimate child.

1970 Tarpley Blinky 220 neTX,

.

babiesbreath because of

a ball.

1968-70 DARE (Qu. EE1) Inf PA247, Baby-in-the-air. People have numbers: when you hear your number, you have to run out and catch the

in

1

Breath.

name.

baby

as:

A

.

baby-in-the-air n

baby toes

grape hyacinth (here: Muscari botryoides). 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.104, Muscari botryoides, baby's breath. E. Mass. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 2 CT, Grape Hyacinth. Babies'

a

bring up

Any

/

babies' slippers

baby-snatcher n Cf baby catcher 2 joe A physician; spec an obstetrician. 1925Lewis Arrowsmith 15, He was going to be an obstetrician 1

the medical students called

DARE(Qu. BB53a)

it

Inf OH47,

— or,as

technically, a "baby-snatcher."

Baby

1968

snatcher.

baby's slippers See babies' slippers baby's toes See babies'

feet

baby stroller n esp S Atl =baby carriage 2. 1966-69 ZXLR£(Qu. N43, Vehicles a small child GA77, 82, NC79, SC3, VA1, Baby stroller. .

.

.

.

has to sit up

in)

Infs

baby tear n =bluet

2.

1956 Stuart Year Rebirth 100 KY, They were picking the wild flowers that are so often called babytears here, though many call them bluets. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. Si 1, Other names ..for., bluets) Inf OH38, Baby tears; (Qu. S21) Inf MN2, Baby tear grows along ground. .

.

—

baby

teeth,

shed one's v phr

=eyeteeth, cut one's. 1894 Advertiser (Montgomery AL) 2 Dec 2 (PADS 13.1 1), I've done shed my baby teeth. 1950 PADS 13.1 AL, GA, To shed one's baby 1

teeth ...

To

be sophisticated; not easily deceived.

baby toes See

babies' feet

baby-trough

back

/

116

baby-trough n [From the shape of a cradle]

A

powerful glad Ikey's made up his mind to talk to a scared he'd be an old bachelor-man.

children's cradle or playpen.

1953 Randolph Down in Holler 225 Ozarks, Baby-trough A cradle, or a play-pen. At Zinc, Ark., the baby-trough was a sizable enclosure, in which women parked their babies while they worked in the tomato cannery. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Baby-trough. .

baby up v phr Cf baby

.

.

fingers, easies

more

favor-

1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 665 .4, Baby up, to get closer to 1955 PADS 23. 1 1 TN, Baby up To slily approach the ring in order to place the taw or shooter in a more favorable position. Perh. fr. nursery baby-talk or nursery slang. 1958 PADS 29.30 MO, Baby up ... To approach a pink [a circular ring] cautiously for a close the ring to shoot.

.

.

.

old-fash

A

baby carriage 1 or other vehicle to carry a child. 1853 McConnel Western Characters 282, A steam-engine would have been clogged [even] by the weight of a baby-wagon. 1894 Twain Pudd'nhead Wilson 14 MO, In front of Wilson's porch stood Roxy, with hand-made baby-wagon. 1903 ( 965) Adams Log Cowboy 354 West, At this church fair there was to be voted a prize of a nice baby wagon to the prettiest baby under a year old. 1965-68 DARE (Qu. N42, Vehicles a baby can lie down in) Infs MD18, MS63. NJ2, NY70, Baby wagon. [All Infs old] 1973 Allen LAUM 1.341, One instance of baby wagon was written by a North Dakotan.

(Qu. S14, Prickly seeds DE2, Bachelor needles. [Inf queries resp]

.

.

.

.

=Dutchman's breeches

A

.

NC

—

local

.

.

— 1

—

— —

—

tle

and

large, regular firecrackers.

woman

ibaby

A midwife.

n

AA30)

Inf

bachelor's button n Also bachelor button

A substitute for a button: see quots. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA, Bachelor's button ... A wooden peg or pin improvised as an attachment for the suspenders. 1915 DN4. 1 80 swVA, Bachelor's button ... A wooden peg used as a button. 1967 DARE (QR, near Qu. Sll) Inf C04, Bachelor button. A two-piece clamp, 1

gripper, or fastener.

2 See quot.

\969

DA RE FW AdditceNY, Bachelor's buttons— cookies [with] pink

sugar frosting and raisins.

bachelor's lantern n 1 959 Martin Gunbarrel 66 sCO (as of 920s), Hanging on the wall was an odd contraption made from a tin can. "It's a bachelor's lantern," Tex replied About midway on the rounded side of an open No. 10 tin 1

on the one near the rim and one near the bottom, and fastened a piece of wire from one to the other for a bail. For years we used lanterns made that way and found them very useful on camping trips.

SI

1,

.

.

other

names

.

.for bachelor's

[bachelor, with intrusive d]

old-fash

called for 1725 in 1833Peirce//arvardt/«/v. 147 MA, The President and moderated one of the Batchelder's questions. 1739 in 1878 Southampton NY Records 3.13, Lying between Coopers neck lane and Bachelders hall. 1795 Dearborn Columbian .

.

the Salutatory Oration,

34, Improprieties,

chelder for Batchelor.

1907

commonly called Vulgarisms 8 seNH, Bachelder.

DN 3.

1

.

.

.

Bat-

back

,

many

popular Bachelor Perch.

names

... are

as

follows:

Crappie,

1947 Dalrymple Panfish 84 (DA), Here, my friend, are the various names by which you would address that little gamester, the Crappie, depending on where you happened to be at the White Perch. Lamplighter, moment: Bachelor, Bachelor Perch, 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 361, White Crappie ... Common .

.

Names:

.

.

123a Inf SC41, Bachelor wort.

PI.

v

To mount

[OED

(a horse).

back v

10,

—1801]

1821 in 860 Claiborne Life Quitman 1 .64 NY, Nobody but myself has dared to back him. Perhaps I may get this nag for the journey. 1874 ( 1 895) Eggleston Circuit Rider 48 IN, As for ridin' Dolly, you know I can back any critter with four legs. 1889 Century Illustr. Mag. 37.899/2 NY, 2.305 seMO. I had not backed a horse for the year past. 1903 191 1 3 5 3 7 eKY. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech 7 1 The first time I backed that horse he threw me off. 1930 VA Qrly. Rev. 6.244, The would likely straddle or back a horse Southern backwoodsman rather than mount a horse. 1

.

DN

.

DN

,

.

.

.

.

To carry (on the back). ?Nth 1840 (1841) Dana Two Years 202 MA, We started off every mornand after dinner, ing and cut wood until the sun was over the point, started off again with our hand-cart and ropes, and carted and "backed" it down, until sunset. 1844 Lee -Frost 10 Yrs. OR 202 OR, The Indians back heavy loads, confined by a strap over their foreheads. 1939 LANE Map 1 65 (Lugged) 1 Inf, csRI, Backed. 1949 Graham Niagara Country 222 nwNY, Artists depict her as a little woman with her head held forward. This posture was the result of carrying endless burdens on her back with the weight borne on a head-strap across her forehead in the Indian custom. It was in this way that she "backed" all of the boards for her house on Gardow the distance of five miles from a sawmiill on Silver .

,

.

DARE Wildfl QR

2

1877 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 9.2 1 This fish is now, as in Rafinesque's time, abundant at the Falls of the Ohio, where it is now called "Bachelor." 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 7 1 Pomoxys [sic] annularis is also known by such names as "Bachelor" in the Ohio Valley. 1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 332, Known throughout Louisiana as Sac-aits

washing

1

bachelor n Also bachelor perch The white crappie (Pomoxis annularis).

.

in

—

1966 [Wildflowers]

A bachelor.

.

holes,

bachelor wort n =orange milkwort.

bachelder n Also sp batchelder

Bachelor,

punched two small

bachelor's wife n ?joc A metal plunger with a long wooden handle, used

1

lait,

From the outside, he poked a kitchen candle through

side of the can opposite the candle, he

button) Inf FL48, Bach button.

1

.

.

the hole about three inches, leaving the rest sticking out. Then,

bach button n [Abbr]

Grammar

1

text.]

bacce, bacco See tobacco n

?NEng

Bachelor's breeches: Dicentra

6,

it"]

baccaro See buckaroo

DARE (Qu.

1.

1959 Martin Gunbarrel 82 cCO, In the morning we [=men "baching reheated the water until it was a little too warm for the hands and washed the clothes with a "bachelor's wife" a tin plunger. [Drawing in

1

IN 13, Baby woman.

bacca See tobacco n

1970

that cling to clothing) Inf

clothes in a kitchen tub.

Cf granny woman

DARE (Qu.

1968

.

cucullaria.

points to the inside.

VA, A

spoke of the tiny harmless judge firecrackers baby-wakers that he and other boys used to use. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. FF 4, .. Different kinds of firecrackers) Infs NCI 6, 41, 42, 44, Baby-wakers; NC88, Baby-waker six or eight inches oldlong, bigger around than an adult thumb; VA37, Baby-wakers small ones; VA71. Baby-wakers litfashioned; VA75, Baby-wakers Coll.

.

can, he cut a cross three quarters of an inch long, punching the four

firecracker.

1947 Hench

.

1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

.

baby-waker n VA,

.

bachelor's breeches n

1

.

DARE

1968

.

shot.

a local

bachelor needles n =beggar ticks 1

bachelor perch See bachelor

In marble play: to place one's shooting marble in a able position.

baby wagon n somewhat

woman. We've been

.

.

.

bachelor perch.

.

.

.

Lake.

3

To endorse a document; esp, to address an envelope or letter. d DSL, OEDS] chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map See also

[Scots:

bachelor man n [EDD 1874] Cf widow woman An unmarried man. 1951 Craig Singing Hills 1 10 swVA, NC, The old man and me

are

backing 1834 Sands Writings 2.136 NY, By-the-way, you may as well back [=endorse] the paper, and send what loose cash you may have, besides.

back

117

1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 2, Back. To back a letter, is Western for to "direct" it. 1895 DN 1.384 wFL. Ibid 396 nelL, IA. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech. 1902 DN 2.228 sIL. 1903 DN 2.305 seMO. 1907 DN 3.220 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA. 1910 DN 3.437 cwNY. 1915 Z).V4.180 swVA. 1917 DN 4.407 wNC. 1926 DN 5.398 Ozarks. 1959 VT Hist, ns 27. 24, Back a letter ... Before envelopes were common, letters were folded and the address written on the back. Obsolete. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965-70 DARE (Qu.JJ14, To write a person's name and where he lives on a letter "I'll mail this letter as soon as I it. ") 94 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, .

.

1

.

.

drilled into the face

of the rock

.

.

are called from top to

1950 Western

holes," "breasters," "relievers," [etc].

bottom "back-

Folkl. 9.37

MT

[Song lyrics]. Oh, my blond hair has turned to green, Maggie, / From the water that drips from the back. 1960 Climax Molybdenum Co. Manual Any rock or concrete overhead. 1966 DARE Tape SD4. 46, Back Heavy steel posts from the floor to the back, we called it. Some would probably call it the roof or the ceiling, but we always called it the back.

—

from the back of a mine. Tape NV, The only chance they've got is if they get down what you call "backs." You go into the tunnel and everything 2 in pi: Material

1968

DARE

.

funny

back

is

.

.

.

Back.

back along

/

called "backs."

Cf front

adj

backhouse, back kitchen

adj.

Of living quarters: of secondary importance (and not necessarily of a home). 1916 Lincoln Mary-'Gusta 18 MA, Mrs. Hobbs led her into the little room off the parlor, the "back settin'-room." 1941 LANE Map 343 (Kitchen) 4 Infs. NH. MA, Back room; [Commentary by 1 Inf:] Back at the rear

room

= summer

on to the seNH, seMA, Back room, (if) built on 1970 DARE (QR, near Qu. D16) Inf FL49, The main (to the house). bedroom is the 'front bedroom.' The other, unless specified as the "guest room,' is called the 'back bedroom,' even if it's on the front of the house. house.

kitchen, a rudely finished structure built

IbidMap 352

back adv =back East

(Ell)

2

Infs.

2.

1966 DARE FW Addit OK27, Generally people for "I'm going East."

backache brake n [Perh once used

To reply promptly to a letter received. 1968 DARE Tape SC54A, Back me a letter just as soon as you can ... To back one means [to] answer [a] letter right away. £4

make a back cut. 1859 Perry Turpentine Farming 52 GA, Some persons have entertained an opinion that pines are not worth backing. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Back 'er up To cut the back side of a tree after the undercut has been put in. 5 In logging: to

—

6 usu with an adv: Of the wind: to direction.

Atlantic, esp coastal

shift in a

counterclockwise

NEng Cfbacken

1871 Lowell Study Windows 5 MA, Did the Wind back round, or go about with the sun? 1951 Hough Singing in Morning 229 seMA, "Backing in" is a phrase that signifies [that the wind is] shifting by a counter-clockwise route. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. B15, When the wind suddenly begins to blow in a different direction, vou say it ) Infs CT17, MA23, 40, 100, NC62, NJ22, VA44, Backed around; NH5, Backed; NC60, Backed up. 1966 DARE Addit ceME, When wind backs in from south to east to north, it's a sign of bad weather. 1975 Gould Lingo 2, Back in Most of Maine's bad weather comes from the northeast, and if a northeast storm clears by backing in it will usually bring one fair day and then it will likely storm again.

FW

ME

.

.

.

.

.

7 also with up and in phrr back yourfoot, back a (or your) leg: Of often used as an animal: to stand still in a designated position a command, esp S Midi Cf back back 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, "Back your leg!" said to a milch cow to

—

make

her take the right position for milking. cl950 Atlas Checklists 1965-70 csWI, Back call to make cow stand still at milking time.

—

—

DARE(Qu. K81, To make a cow stand still forexample, when milking ") Infs M024, OK20. Back up; SC57. Say her— you say ".

—

and hold still for milking; AL34, AR52. NJ67, Back a leg— She'll back a leg and stand there [Inf lived for 12 yrs in VA]; GA19, Back your foot. 1973 Allen LAUMl. 264 MN, Calls to horses to stop them back, [back] up "back"

she'll

step back

M024, OK49, Back

your

leg;

.

[reported by 2

.

.

together.

n, also attrib

In mining:

The ceiling or overhead portion of a mine. 1843 Geo! NY 1.361, The "back," in mining phraseology, means the mass of a vein that has not been removed, and lying above the galleries that have been opened. 1945 CA Folkl. Qrly. 4.321 CO, The holes 1

backache remedy]

as a

lady fern (here: Athyrium filix-femina).

Athyr1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 130 NY, Backache Brake 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 7, Backache brake. Female Filix Foemina. 1889 Century Diet., Backachebrake ... A name of the lady-fern.

1873

in

.

.

.

ium filix-femina. fern, Aspidium

backache

root n

=blazing star 3 (esp Liatris spicata). [See quot 1901] 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 237, Liatris Many vulgar names, Backache root, Rough root, &c. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 7, Backache root. Button snake root, Liatris spicata. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild 1

.

.

.

.

.

Flowers 501, Backache-root, or also called Devil's-bite When the rattlesnakes are less vicious than their wont, it seems that the decoction made from this plant is held in reserve to cure backache. 1931 Clute Common Plants 124, Others [of these plants] are mildly tonic or possess some faint medicinal value Familiar examples are backache-root (Liatris spicata). 1974 ( 1 977) Coon Useful Plants 113. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 =colicroot 2 (here: Aletris farinosa). 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 40. Aletris farinosa Combackache root. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 171. .

mon Names: 3

.

.

.

.

A spleenwort 1. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

6,

Backache

back-actually adv Also black-actually

root:

Asplenium

(v).

Ozarks

Truly, absolutely.

1928

AmSp

4.1 18

Ozarks, Well,

sir,

black actu'lly an' candidly, thet

1930 VA Qrly. Re\: 6.249. He [= a Southern Highlander] may affirm candidly and black-actually that the line of his barn roof is hip-skeltered, antegogglin', catawampus or waupajawed. 1934 (1970) Wilson Backwoods Amer. 70 Ozarks, He may affirm candid and back-actually that Tola Summerlin's was the best hawg meat he ever et. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 67 Ozarks, Wilson reports really and back-actually, candid and back- actually, 'ar's

the masterest catfish

I

ever seed!

.

.

.

.

.

the hillfolk that I know always say candidly an black-actually, pronouncing the black very plainly.

and candidly and back-actually, but '

infs].

8 To mend temporarily. [Perh from backing piece of cloth used as a foundation or for stiffening] 1968 DARE (Qu. W28, When a woman is in a hurry to sew up a torn ") Inf AK8. Back it place quickly, she might say, "I'll just

back

A

"I'm going back"

say,

back-a-licks See back-licks

back-alley bridge n Also backyard bridge, ~ garbage 1968 DARE (Qu. DD35, around here) Inf OH46. Card games .

.

.

Bridge, poker, hearts, gin

rummy,

bridge, backyard garbage,

little skill,

back along adv phr [back

.

back-alley bridge;

+

along

1880—] NEng Some time ago; in

MI 103.

Backyard

mostly luck. 1;

EDD

back-along

1,

the past. 1923 R. Frost in Century Illustr. Mag. 106.684 NEng, Some sympathy was wasted on the house, / A good old-timer dating back along. 1951 Graham My Window 133 ME, But just why "the old ones back-along" placed the schoolhouse on a hill is a mystery to everyone. .

.

back and

backcap

/

fill

118

back and

[Transf from fill v phr, hence backing andfilling vbl n naut use: see quots] chiefly NEng 1 To move backward and forward repeatedly without making

actual progress. to 1906 Essex Inst. Coll. 42.315 MA, He was then order'd then ordered from Stillwarter to Benington This in the Salers Frase is Back[in]g & filling, makes but poor way a head. 1858 Knickerbocker 51.152 Philadelphia PA, He wound up his wondrous performance [i.e., of dancing] by reeling gracefully up to the youthful

1777

in

.

Stillwarter,

.

.

.

.

ME

and 'backing and filling' twice around her. 1 975 Gould Lingo Back andfill ... is used by farmers for turning a cart in a small area, by repeatedly backing and going ahead in short takes. countess 1

.

.

,

To vacillate or waver with respect to a position. 1854 Herald (NY, NY) 15 June (1859 Bartlett Americanisms), There has been so much backing and filling not only upon the Cuba question, but upon every other, that no confidence may be placed in the declaration which either Gen. Pierce or his cabinet may make. 1927 AmSp 3. 1 36 ME, A man who changed his mind was said to "whop over" ... If he hesitated, he was said to "back and fill." 1942 ME Univ. Studies 4, A vacillating, unreliable person was said to back andfill. This was a handy expression and was adopted by people who had no notion that the figure was that of a ship now making progress with sails full and now aimlessly drifting with sails aback. c!960 Wilson Coll. csKY, You should have seen him backing and filling when I accused him of cheating me in a horse trade. 1968 DARE (Qu. All, When somebody takes too long ") Inf AK1, "I wish he'd quit about coming to a decision, Backing and filling; (Qu. 113 1, "He saw that he was wrong, so he Lingo, startedto ")InfNY123, Backandfill. 1975 Gould Back andfill To handle sails so they repeatedly catch and then spill the wind, a maneuver to tack or work a vessel to windward in a narrow channel with a favoring tide. Thus, to back andfill is iofuddy-dud about without great accomplishment ... A politician who won't state his position, but talks around it, is backing and filling. 2

.

.

.

.

ME

—

back and

forth v phr, hence backing andforthing vbl n

To go from and

1

return to the

same place

S Midi

repeatedly, esp with

little result.

DN 4.294 sAppalachians,

1916

and semi-hybrids are found,

Numerous

.

.

anomalous compounds

1931 307 sAppalachians, He kep' a backin' an' a-forthin' all day. 1940 in 1968 Haun Hawk's Done Gone 158 eTN, She had him backing and forthing to the post office with a pack of letters.

PMLA

46.

1

By

ext: to

1936

AmSp

2

some all

for example: backing-and-forthing.

work

ineffectively with

11.314 Ozarks, Backing

much moving and forthing

.

.

.

about. Engaging

in

'Them CCC boys jest kept a-backin' an' a-forthin' 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 225 Ozarks, Back and To work in an aimless or futile manner.

futile enterprise.

day.'

forth ...

nwMS [Black], En they had a lot of back-and-

forth.

chiefly

S

Atl

1856 Holmes Lena Rivers 72 NEng, Causing grandma to wonder "how managed to carry victuals back and to when it was cold and slippery." 1931 -33 LANE Worksheets ceCT, Back an' to. 1936 Scribner's Mag. 100.29 cFL, I cain't traipse back and to, waiting and waiting all the time. 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.5 17 cnNC, He goes back and to Altamahaw - Ossipee every day. 1965 DARE File OK, Back and 1966-68 DARE Tape to: back and forth. Used in the "deep South." trailers to move back and to from one ranch to the FL32, We use other; GA30, Just wash 'im, rench 'im in the water, back and to, 'til he comes out o' the hull; GA51, Close to her work, back an' to. 1976 DARE File sG A, Back and to reported by a south Georgia man to have been "heard all his life." .

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

NC88, Back-ackards; Mil

assards;

18,

Back-ass-backwards; NC36,

Back-assed.

back back v phr esp Sth, S Midi See also back v 7 CfDJE To move backward usu used in a command to a draft animal. 1907 DN 3.240 eME, Back back ... To back (usually, a horse). "Back back, wo'n't you, so I can get out of here?" "He backedthe horse back."

—

1938 Stuart Dark Hills 18 eKY, Once they carried him [=Pap] on past and Old Buck Stump made them back-back the train two miles and put them off. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Back back: A command to mules or horses. 1966 DARE(Qu. K36b, Whatdoyousay 7 to make a horse go backwards ) Infs FL6, 9, 27, Back back! the station

back-ball exclam

game of Antony-over: =pigtail exclam. 1950 WELS (What do you call if the ball does not go over the building, but comes back?) 5 Infs, WI, Back-ball. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE23b) 23 Infs, scattered, Back-ball. In the

backband n Also backstrap [OED—>l 848; see also EDD] now chiefly

A

belt

Sth which binds a saddle or work harness to a horse's back.

1909 DN 3.408 ME, Backstrap ... In harness the turnback or strap which runs from the saddle along the horse's back. 1965-70 DARE (Qq. LL53a, b) Infs FL18, GA22, VA105, Back band; MS81, Back band goes across horse's back; M024, Backband used with trace chains; DC3, Surcingle [same as] backband.

—

—

—

backbone

n, also attrib

Pork meat from near the backbone. 1938 Hertzler Horse & Buggy Dr. 80 cwKS, She never could backbone and sauerkraut without getting stomach

eat

from it, she explained. 1951 Brown Southern Cook Book 100 NC, Backbone with Dumplings The backbone of the pig is one of the most succulent parts of the meat, and may be boiled plain, stewed with dumplings or baked as spareribs. 1966 DARE (QR, near Qu. H55) Inf MS72, Backbone dumplings. Stew made with pork backbone for flavor and dumplings, which are dough hunks cooked in the pot. Same asporkstew. .

.

distress

.

backbone fence n [Because fish]

A

it resembles the backbone of a Also called shadback fence

stake-and-rail fence.

LANE Map

1

17,

Inf,

1

and post-and-rail

cwCT,

We

had

rail flences],

backbone

f[ences].

backbreaker n, also attrib A tree stump cut close to the ground. 1931

AmSp 7.52 Sth, SW, Fourteen inch stumps, because they are low,

are called "back breakers."

Adams Western ibackbrush n Backwoods.

the farm?)

1950 1

WELS

Inf,

Words, Backbreakers

(What kinds of saws are seWI, Backbreaker saw. 1968

— In logging,

tree stumps.

attrib

1934 (1970) Wilson Backwoods Amer. 17 Ozarks, Backbrush humor hangs upon pegs that are unashamedly obvious. Ibid 204, The countryside school Sherman Ham, who teaches a roomful of is kept by backbrush scholars, ranging in age from five to twenty-five years. .

.

.

.

back-buster n Sth, Midi Cf belly-buster 2 A dive in which one lands flat on the water. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE29) 12 Infs, Sth, Midi, Back-buster.

back cant n Nth

back'ard(s) See backward(s)

In logging: a rearward pull with a cant hook.

back-around n 5 Pacific

NW, Back-around— A Y for

turning trailers in the early days of truck logging before trailers were carried to the woods on the truck.

back-asswards adv For varr see quots West See also bass-ackward(s)

chiefly Inland Nth,

DARE Tape NH 14,

[In a sawmill:] Using a cant dog to stop a log away, had to take a back cant on that. 1969 Sorden Reverse use of cant Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Back cant hook to hold log back instead of the usual use to roll it forward.

1968

In logging: see quot.

=ass-backward(s).

.

commonly used on

the poor critters

1958 McCulloch Woods Words

.

flences],

back and to adv phr [EDD 1886] now To and fro, back and forth.

.

.

1939

back-and-forth n Talk between two persons. 1941 Percy Lanterns 293

1951 Salinger Catcher 53 PA, You always do everything backasswards No wonder you're flunking the hell out of here You don't do one damn thing the way you're supposed to. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. ") Infs MI24, 63, NY94, MM2, "You've got your dress on PA94, Back-asswards; CA136, IL30, Back-ackwards; (Qu. ") MM3, "This is thefront; you've got the whole thing turned 1 Infs, chiefly Inland Nth, West, Back-asswards; MS73, NCI 4, Back-

that's rolling

—

backcap n

A verbal

insult based upon the insulted person's background. 1883 Twain Life on Missip. (Boston) 5 14, 1 told him all about my being

,

backcap

119

& now did n't fear no one giving me a back cap (exposing & running me off the job. 1970 Major Afro-Amer. Slang

in prison ...

his past

life)

(

1

940s) a sharp reply

backcap v [backcap

— associated with The Dozens.

somewhat

n]

Cfcapvld

old-fash

—

Among loggers:

forty, the 1

see quot.

1958 McCulloch Woods Words 5 Pacific NW, Back corner end of a logging operation; similar to "back forty" but not so .

far

away.

1

1

places as Wisconsin, for example, were back east. Likewise, the people themselves were, to my mind at least, "easterners." Ibid nCA (as of 1 950s), When I was growing up, to go "back East" meant, roughly, to go anywhere east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River. South of the Ohio was "down South."

Dance, (1968) his

Map

.

.

called the

2/1 Philadelphia

Back Countryman,

Simms Wigwam & Cabin (

PA

[Advt]:,

New

Or, the

A new

450 (A

Rustic),

back cut n Also

Ballet

1845

Settlers.]

29 Sth, The boatman dialect and dress that he was a back-countryman. 1941 1

st ser)

.

.

knew

LANE

Back countryman [occurs occasionally].

called after cut

ZW 4.224 wTX, Back East

part of Texas east of the speaker, to

back door n ...

The

rope: see quots.

is

A movement in Cf front door 1

the children's

game of jump-

1943 TX Folkl. Soc. Pub. 18.198 seTX, The proficient jumper learns not only to keep her feet clear of both ropes, but to enter and run out at will, either "front door" or "back door." 1961 Western Folkl. 20. 179, Back door Running in when the rope is being turned away from the jumper, very forbidding. 1968 DARE File selD, Back door Turning the rope away from the jumper so she must jump over the rope when she goes in instead of under the rope. More difficult than Front Door. 1979 [see front door 1].

—

—

4 See backdoor treatment.

backdoor treatment n Also back

A

door, backdoor chute

snub; a "cold shoulder".

1966-68 DARE(Qu. with a certain person

.

II5b, .

,

When you don't want to have anything to do him

'I'd like to give

Backdoor treatment; NJ36, Backdoor;

the

")

Inf NJ 1

MA6, Backdoor chute.

[All Infs

1

+ trots; EDD, OEDS

1789

—

]

widespread joe

See also barnyard trots, B.D.T. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Back-door-trots ... The diarrhoea. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA, Back-do(or) trots. 1912 DN 3.570 wIN, Back door trots. 1944 PADS 2.39 sVA, Back-door-trots. 1950 W ELS (Joking or nicknamesfor diarrhea) 22 Infs, WI, Backdoor trot(s); 1 Inf, Backhouse trots old-fashioned. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, I've had a bad spell of back-door trots lately. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB19, 1

Diarrhea.

—

Joking names for looseness of the bowels) 131 Infs, widespread, Backdoor trots; MA65, NY84, 121, WI66, Backdoor trot; IN3, MN15, WA28, Backhouse trots; CA36, OH98, PA 179, SC40, Backyard trots; PA 162, Backdoor quicksteps; CA127, Backdoor scoots; (Qu. K28) Inf MA6, Cows get backdoor trots from milk. 2 Transf: overactive kidneys,

chiefly Sth,

phr S Midi

adj

Cf balled up

.

.

.

backen

v [back v 6

Midi

1950 WELS (Joking or nicknames for over-active kidneys) 1 Inf, csWI, Backdoor trots. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. BB20) 16 Infs, chiefly Sth, Midi, Backdoor trots.

+ -en]

in, or up: Of the wind: to shift in a counterclockwise direction. NEng Cf back v 6 1903 DN 2.294 Cape Cod (as of 1850s), It blowed fresh from the northeast all day, then moderated and backened round to the northard and into the norwest. 1907 DN 3.240 eME, "The wind is backenin' around." 1909 DN 3.422 Cape Cod MA. \945 CcAcoxA Sea Language 45 ME, Cape Cod, Long Island, Back(en) round. Of the wind, to change counterclockwise, a sign of bad weather on the coast. 1967 DARE (Qu. B15) Inf ME 10, The wind changing from northwest to northeast is comin around (good weather); wind from the northwest to the west or southwest is backenin in or backenin up (storm to come).

1

usu with (a)round,

MA

'

'

'

2 To retard or delay (a process). 1942 Whipple Joshua 40 UT (as of cl860), "Sister Tuckett's having a pain or two," she said, "but I taken her some peppermint and horehound and made her a toddy." "That ought to backen 'em [=labor pains]." 1950 WELS Suppi, "The bread was rising too fast so I set it in a cool place to backen it" used by a woman (college graduate) from Maine

—

[who] says

it is

back-ended

old]

backdoor trot n,usuplbutsginconstr For varr see quots [back door

common

adj

there.

Cf back-end-to,

half-assed

Arsy-versy, perverse.

1904 Day Kin o' Ktaadn 59 ME, The heedlessest critter that I ever saw We people 'round town kind o' thought he was "out." He always was doin' some back-ended trick. .

.

.

back end of bad luck n The worst part of something unfortunate. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 1 9 cFL, "Now don't he look like the back end bad luck?" Jody thought that Easy looked like a sick gray crane, with feathers draggled by the rain. 1

o'

[EDD

back-end-to adv phr For varr see quots

1886—]

chiefly

=backside-to. 1926 DN 5.385

Nth Cf ass-end-to,

back-end-fore

hindside-to

Reversed. "He turned ME, Back-end-too [sic] back-end-too." Common. 1959 VT Hist, ns 27. 124, Backend to: with the rear of something facing one. Common. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. ")InfsAL3,CT25,NY155, MM2, "You've got your dress on WI13, WY5, Back-end-to; NJ16, Back-end-before; AL51, IL84, 85, "This NY9,PA72,TN36,TX54,WV21, Back-end-front; (Qu.MM3, ") Infs CT19, is the front: you've got the whole thing turned .

.

.

.

.

.

back-drawing n Reluctance, objection, hesitation.

any

states (Georgia,

—

anus.

open: See quot. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. W24b, Sayings to warn a man that his pants are torn or split) Infs CA212, MN15, (Your) back door's open.

3 also quasi-adv:

any of the Southern

—

.

2 in phr one's back door

Indefinite phrase referring to

.

Constipated. 1969 DARE (Qu. BB21) Infs KY10, TN36, Backed up. 1978 NADS Letters swAR, Backed up I have heard my parents and older relatives My mother's family had been in southwestern Aruse the term kansas for two or three generations. Ibid, I recall [backed up] from rural South Carolina and, I think, from eastern Kentucky. I suspect it's pretty archaic I don't think I've ever heard it at home. .

See also backdoor trot NC Folkl. 1.5 17, Back door

.

Alabama, etc.), but never to the Eastern [i.e. Atlantic] states. "I'm a-going back East" usually means to some point in Texas. 1951 Porter Ragged Roads 59 wOK, Every able-bodied nester was mending his gears and greasing his wagon to go back East to the harvest fields [in central

backed up

—

1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Back cut In falling timber, the final cut put in a tree after the undercut has been completed. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes.

See quot. 1952 Brown

.

Oklahoma].

Cf back v 5

In logging: see quot 1958.

1

See also back adv

2 spec: Eastward for a short distance.

1915

Nov

to you.

1

1 In the eastern part of the U.S.; in or to a place east of the West Coast (but not necessarily in the Atlantic states). West 1876 S.F. Dly. Examiner 10 Oct 1/3 (DA), O! you ought to see them administer justice back East. 1940 in 1944 ADD OR, Back East. 1948 5. Sierran Mar 3/ (DA) sCA, The whole trip had the delightful aspects of a snow trip in winter 'up north' or 'back east.' 1981 DARE File swCA, Since I can remember (b. 940), people commonly spoke of traveling in the general direction of the Atlantic seaboard as going back east. Such

rustic.

[1796 Gaz. U.S. 19

by

The

.

far

CfDSHHl

back countryman n

A

.

[=moonshine whiskey]

back East adv phr Cf East n

1889 Century Diet., Backcap ... To depreciate or disparage. [U.S. slang]. 1891 Boston Sunday Herald 20 Sept. 4/5 (DAE), Do you think you wouldn't say something that would backcap me? 1896 ( 1 898) Ade Artie 7 Chicago IL, Mrs. Morton got me a good seat and then backcapped the show a little before it opened up. Ibid 99, 1 don't want to back-cap her. 1928 Hearst 's International %5 .34/2 SW, Fine specimen, backcappin' your own neighbors to town trash! you are

back corner n Cf back

hit for

sellin' hit

Seequot 1889.

back-end-to

1934 (1970) Wilson Backwoods Amer. 170 AR, MO, Ifyou-all wanted your own pussonal use, I wouldn't have no back-drawin's about

I

22, Backcap:

/

.

.

back entry

MA61,

back-jaw

/

NY136,

73,

155,

120

PA190, Back-end-to; MA5, Back-end-fore-

most.

+ entry 2]

back entry n [back

1948 Hurston Seraph 95 wFL (as of c 1920), Jim began to talk about buying an automobile. That back-gap was going to be widened into a driveway. 1963 PADS 40.3, Back-gap ... An alley [in ref to quot 1948].

In bituminous coal mining: =air course.

1920 Fay Gloss. Mining 55/2, Back entry. The air course parallel to and below an entry. 1947 Natl. Coal Assoc. Gloss., Back entry or back The entry used for secondary purposes in two-entry system of heading mining, often used only for ventilation purposes. Locally, any entry not having track in it. 1973 PADS 59.25 AL, sIL, eKY, Back entry.

—

backer n =backlog 1

back help n Cf change work Assistance given reciprocally, as among farmers. 1940 Yoder Rosanna 24 ePA, This threshing outfit was owned jointly [by several individual farmers] They helped each other thresh, and this co-operation was called "back help." 1968 DARE (Qu. L5) Inf PA75, Back help. 1

.

backhouse n Cfback

1

1940-41 Cassidy WI Atlas swWI, Backer. 1969 DARE (Qu. D33, When you build afire in the fireplace, what do you call the big log that goes behind the others) Inf MI 1

10, Backer.

.

adj

1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, The bighouseis the the parlor, doghouse is the dormer.

backhouse

lily

living

room, backhouse is

n

backer n 2 See tobacco

A

backfall See fallback n 2b

1980 Greenfield Recorder (MA) 21 June B3/2, And don't forget the common, inelegantly named flower, the "backhouse lily" which so often

back family n Also back stock

grew beside the path to the privy or backhouse. That's the one that has spread all along roadsides and makes quite a showing.

A line of descent:

one's parents or relatives of an earlier genera-

tion.

DARE Tape ME2, You mean my back family, my father and mother. 1969 DARE FW Addit swNJ, All my back stock — my ances1966

tors.

back

fat n

=fatback 1969

1.

day

{Hemerocallis spp).

lily

backhouse

trots See backdoor trot

backie-horse n Also backie-ride [Scots backie a hoist onto one's back (SND, EDD)} A ride on an adult's back; a piggyback ride. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. Y31) Inf MN12, Backie-horse; ND2, Backieride.

DARE (Qu.

H38, Other words for bacon) Inf NY226, Back

fat.

backing vbl n [back v n =flowage

backfill

1967 fills

swOR,

Backfill

— the water

from a

rising

river

low land.

back fin n, also attrib Chesapeake Bay area The breast meat of the blue crab. 1946 Sun (Baltimore MD) Aug 5/3 eMD (Hench Coll.), August is the 1

for the old blue crab of the Chesapeake with lots of fat real season and plenty of breast meat, which is commercially called back-fin meat. 1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 189 Chesapeake Bay, Pierce, probe and ream out the posterior bony chambers of the [blue] crab's body section ... Do it right and out pop nice round lumps of meat, the prized "back fin" or "jumbo lump" of commerce. .

.

.

.

^backfire v

from a mail-order [company] 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, I done went

letter

.

[=that]

an argument.

in

DARE (Qu.

113 1) Inf

MD24,

Backfire.

Cf ASEE23b

backings n [CfSND, See also backward(s)

game of Antony-over: =pigtail exclam. 1950 WELS (What do you call if the ball does not go over the building, but comes back?) 1 Inf, ceWI, Backfire! fly n Cf face fly, nose fly Prob a blow fly (Calliphoridae). 1968-70 DARE (Qu. R12, Kinds offlies

back

.

face

fly,

heel

fly;

.

1

forty,

fly

—

large,

.

it

around here) Inf KY80, lays an egg in the hide of .

+ forty

n Bl]

Cf DCan

Nth, West

but often arid or barren piece of land.

Also

see quot 1958. 1950 WELS (A large piece of land under cultivation) 1 Inf, ceWI, The "The back back forty. 1956 Ker Vocab W. TX 89, Waste-land forty" [reported by 1 Inf]. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Backforty a. The back end of an operation and beyond, b. Any distant fig:

.

.

.

—

The ideal logging show you'll never find. 1967-68 DARE(Qu. C33, Joking names for an out-of-the-way place)lnkMN34, WI47, never (The) back forty; (Qu. L6b) Inf MI67, Back forty derogatory very good land. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Back place,

.

c. .

.

.

—

forty

— Way back

in the brush

—

— a long haul.

2 in phr plow the back forty: See quot. 1967 DARE (QR, near Qu. L6b) Inf MI67, time: "He's been plowing the back forty."

back-front See backwards-front

back-gap n

.

.

1

When

—

but in different breaks at the worm, it don't stop runnin' sections of the countries it's called different names. Here the most popular name for it is backins. 1972 Foxfire Book 316 nGA, Backwhat results after beer [=fermented mash] is run through a ings Moonshine 1 1 3 [Glosthumperless operation once. 1974 Maurer Low-proof liquor, not containing enough sary], Backings or backins alcohol to be considered whiskey. Usually low-proof distillate near the it

.

.

.

.

If somebody's

wasting his

back

in

left in

the thumper."

the saddle (again) pred adj Cf saddle

Menstruating. 1954 AmSp 29.298 TX, OK, FL [Vernacular of menstruation], Back in the saddle [in use by men and women]. 1978 MJLF4. 1.38 cTX, They "back in also used terms suggestive of feminine hygiene products: .

.

.

the saddle again" (complete with melody).

back

in

the

woods

adj

phr

Unsophisticated; out of step with the times. 1965 Brown Manchild 278 NYC, Everybody was far away, way back in the woods. Ibid 279, The way I felt about it, I should have been their parents, because I had been out there on the streets, and I wasn't as far back in the woods as they were.

back-jaw

A

As

v,

n [Cf SWA

EDD]

verb.

To answer

in an insolent or hostile manner. 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 98 eSC [Gullah], "Yuh duh back-jaw "I'll back-jaw you much as I me?" [="Are you talking back to me?"] .

See quot 1963.

.

end of a run. "... about a gallon backins

the n [back

A remote,

.

KY

.

WI43, Back

S Midi

etc]

liquor left after distillation of whiskey. 1867 U.S. Congress Congressional Globe 21 Jan App 60/1 KY, What run now [in distilling, after the doubling tub is removed] are called "backings." These backings are too valuable to be lost, and are placed back into the still, run through again, and come out doublings or proof whiskey. 1911 DN 3.537 eKY, Backings ... A grade of whiskey interand "singlings." 1917 DN mediate in strength between "first-shot" 4.407 wNC, KY. 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.5 17 wNC. 1968-69 DARE Tape NC54, After your whiskey runs out, your first shot, I'd say 220 proof [sic] then you can use the rest when it comes out. It comes what you call backins, that's weak. Then you put so many backins out in that to make it how you want to drink it, 90 proof, or 00 proof; GA72,

.

the back of the cow.

back

W3 backings refuse of wool, C Cf tailings

Weak

.

In the

fly,

seen that from the backing. put the wrong backing on 'at

I

'n

letter.

.

backfire exclam

Back

.

.

To back down 1968

3]

The address or return address on an envelope or letter. 1928 Chapman Happy Ml. 292 eTN, 'Taint nought but a advertising

1.

DARE FW Addit

in

1

please."

.

back jockey

121

B As noun. Back-talk, insolent 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.517 c,eNC, Back-jaw Mainly Negroes. reply. "Don't give me no back-jaw, big boy!" .

.

.

.

.

back jockey See jockey back-kill v, hence back-killing vbl n, back-killin(s) exclam

See

In marble play: to strike

from a

one marble with another as

it

rebounds

wall.

To hit an opponent's taw while 1922 DN 5.186 KY, Back-kill A case of 'back-killing.' The owner of the taw which hits rebounding. must cry out "Back-killin'(s)." If the owner of the taw "back-killed" is quicker and cries out "Vence ye back-killins," his taw is not "dead" and 1955 PADS 23.11 cwTN, Backhe may continue in the game. .

.

kill

.

.

.

.

back number n, also attrib; also back-numberish number an earlier copy or issue of a periodical]

.

.

back-sass

[back

adj

A

person, place or thing thought to be out of date. 1882 Peck Peck's Sunshine 153 WI, There is always some old back number of a girl who has no fellow who wants to go. 1897 KS Univ. anything out of date or antiquated, as of Qrly. 6.5 KS, Back-number 1911 Quick a stale story or a conservative person = "has-been." repugYellowstone Nights 286 DC, When there's anything to be done nant to some back-number criminal law. 1913 Wharton Custom of Country 572 NY, Well, I did look like a back number, and no blame to you for thinking so. 1939 Brownell Horse & Buggy Philos. 199 swMI, They say there isn't a single [hitching] post on State Street and so why should we be back numberish and cluttered up with 'em. 1941 LANE Map 450 1 inf, sNH, Back number, a farmer who is 'behind the times.' 1969 DARE Tape PA 98, It's kind of a back number, but it used to be a 1

also back-lick

/

.

.

.

.

1

Back-killing.

back kitchen n [back

NEng Cf summer

chiefly

adj]

pretty well-to-do town.

kitchen

See quot 1966. 1849 in 1894 Lowell Letters 1.153 MA, A skunk was shot in our back-kitchen this morning. 1966 DARE (Qu. DlOa) Inf ME20, Back

back

nowhere See backside

of

of nowhere

1

kitchen

deep

— a room (unheated) connected to the kitchen, used

for storing,

2 in phr hotter than hell's back-kitchen: Extremely hot. 1949 NY Folkl. Qrly. 5.234 VT, Hotter'n hell's back-kitchen. 1958 Hist, ns 26.274 VT.

VT

PADS 2.3.1 cwTN, 1

back

Inf

of the rip See rip

challenge (one), to dare. 1840 (1847) Longstreet GA Scenes 28, 1 didn't care about trading; but you cut such high shines, that I thought I'd like to back you out, and I've done it. Gentlemen, you see I've brought him to a hack. 1911 ZXV3.537 eKY, Back out. To dare or challenge; e.g., "I'll back you out to do it."

n,

Back-lick

.

.

.

Heard.

exclam Also back-a-licks

In marble play: the striking of one marble by another as

rebounds from a

it

back one's play v phr

To

wall.

Mag. 36.78/1 sIL, Their cries of 'rounses,' 'taw,' 'dubs,' 'back licks,' and 'vent' might often be heard. 1892 DN 1.219 DC, 1888 Century

Illustr.

Back-a-licks: used in "back-a-licks takes over"; that is, if a marble hit another by rebounding from a wall, that shot shall not be counted, but another one shall be allowed. 1955 PADS 23. 1 1 cwTN, Back-licks; no back-licks.

n

line

1950 WELS 2 Infs, WI, Back of the lap. 1969 DARE (Qu. X35) in the presence of ladies. GA72, "Backside of your lap"

To

In marble play: =back-kill.

back

euphem

back one out v phr

back-lick v

back-licks

lap joe or

—

freeze, etc.

1955

back of the lap n Also backside of one's The buttocks.

support or defend a person or statement. 1930 Williams Logger-Talk 19 Pacific NW, Backed his play: Stood behind his statement or act. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Back his play To back up a man.

—

back-out n Midi old-fash or arch Cowardice; a disposition to retreat from an opponent. 1828 Western Souvenir 314 KY, There's no back out in none of my 1832 Paulding Westward Ho 2.136 MO, He could whip his weight in wild cats, there being no back out in him or any of his breed. 1841 Knickerbocker 17.27 WV, There is no back out in the captain, no how. 1953 Hall Coll. wNC, There's hardly any back-out on one of them [=the Plott breed of bear dogs], for he'll fight anything from a woods breed.

In logging: =haulback.

1

—

1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Back line A haulback. 1968 DARE Tape CA100, Back line ... A line extending from a bull sometimes donkey engine, over pulleys, into the woods to haul logs two miles long. .

2 In marble play:

=taw

.

.

line.

1969 DARE (Qu. EE8, The line toward which the players roll their marbles before beginning a game, to determine the order ofshooting) Inf MI 101, Back line.

mouse

to a grizzly bear.

back people n

who

pi

back country. 770 in 1 9 1 8 Hist. Mag. 13.67,1 shall write to the Back People by Mr. Roberts. 1941 LANE Map 450 inf, cVT, Back people, collective term for those living 'in the back country.' People

live in the

MD

1

1

backlog n widespread 1 A large log at the rear of a wood-burning fire, See also backpiece, backstick Cf forelog 1684(1977) Mather Essay Providences 162 RI, The Spit was carried up Chimney, and came down with the point forward, and stuck in the Back-log. 1845 Judd Margaret 158 NEng, In the cavernous fire-place burns a great fire, composed of a huge green back-log, a large green forestick, and a high cob-work of crooked and knotty refuse-wood, ivy, hornbeam and beech. 1941 LANE Map 2.330, [The map shows backlog to be current throughout NEng]. 1952 in 1958 Brewer Dog Ghosts 28

TX [Black], Tecks his ax an' staa'ts to whackin' down a few trees so's he kin cut 'im a few backlogs for his fiahplace. 1962 PADS 38.66, On the back log seems to be a fairly strong Midland word. The checklists, however, point out that the term is also used widely in the Northern area. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. D33, The big log that goes behind the others) 516 Infs, widespread, Backlog.

basis of the interview response alone,

.

2 Transf: a wife, joe 1970 DARE (Qu. AA15b, ")

Inf

VA69, Got

.

A

man

AmSp

24. 106

nwSC,

Back-piece.

back porch n joe Cf ASX35 Cf front porch 1 The buttocks. 1 950 W ELS (Joking words for the part ofthe body you sit on) 4 Infs, WI, Back porch.

back-porch yardmaster n

Among 1

railroad workers: see quot. 977 Adams Lang. Railroader 9. Back-porch yardmaster: The foreman

of the yard switchmen.

back reading room See reading room backroom-stretcher See stretcher

.

.

Of

the

a backlog

man

— means somebody

ibacks adv

to keep his

Backward. 1967

n

children's game similar to musical chairs: see quot. 969 DARE (Qu. EE2, Games that have one extra player: when a signal is given, the players change places, and the extra one tries to get a place) InfMO20, Back man. 1

.

1949

"He

getting married,

back warm.

iback

backpiece n =backlog 1

AL16,

DARE (Qu.

JJ 5, 1

.

Know if he's going

back-sass

n,

v

.

"He

hasn't enough sense to

")

Inf

forwards or backs.

[DAE sass

back,

1884—]

Impertinent talk; to speak impertinently or discourteously; hence back-sasser one who speaks rudely, a "smart aleck." ," Arn 1950 Stuart Hie Hunters 21 3 eKY, "I didn't mean to backsass .

.

;

1

backset

/

backslode

122

1968 Kellner Aunt Serena 94 sIN

apologized.

(as

of c 19 10), [The

"Tom's uncle gave him 10 quarts of oats. He said 'Feed the white horse 2 quarts more than the red horse, and the black horse 2 quarts more than the white horse', What do you think Tom problem

in arithmetic] read:

head with the it was back1969 DARE (Qu. II36a, Somebody who talks back or gives rude sass. ?") Inf IN79, Back-sasser. answers: "Did you ever see such a should do?"

.

.

"I think he should hit his uncle over the

feed bucket, myself." Wilbur said this wasn't arithmetic,

meaning

that she

had bad luck

A setback; a check or reverse. [SND

1721

—

backside-to adv phr Also backside-front For van* see quots chiefly Nth somewhat old-fash See Map See also back-endto, back-to adv phr, backwards-front, hindside-to Backwards; in reversed position; inside out. 1920s in 944 ADD cNY, Backside front. 1950 WELS ("She had her ") 3 Infs, WI, Backside to; dress on Inf, Backside foremost; 1

1

Backside front; 1 Inf, Backside fore. 1959 VTHist. ns 27. 1 24, Back " You've got your sideto Insideout. 1965-70£>AR£(Qu.MM2, ") 23 Infs, chiefly Nth, Backside-to; 1 1 Infs, chiefly dress on Nth, Backside-front; DC3, IL34, MD32, NJ2, 7, 64, PA181, Backside-forward(s); IL106, IA8, NY242, Backside-before; IL63, MD30, VT10, Backside-foremost; (Qu. MM3, "This is the front ") Infs AK8, CT8, MA2, 61, you've got the whole thing turned 98, NY67, 88, 205, Backside-to; KS7, TNI 2, VT6, WI52, Backsidefront; NJ19, VT10, Backside foremost.

]

chiefly Sth,

S

.

a A reversal in one's personal or political affairs. 1816 in 853 Calhoun Works 2. 70 SC, It would give a back set, and might endanger their ultimate success. ISIS Congressional Record 1 Feb 823/1 VA, We cannot afford that there shall be another financial backset. 1904 ( 1 972) Harben Georgians 37, Darley was a growing place. It was gradually recovering from the serious back-set given it by the war. 1

1

all

Inf,

Midi

.

figurative expression

1

backset n 1

A

out'ards."

dav.

.

.

.

.

.

MOB, .

.

b usu in phr take a backset: A relapse during convalescence. esp Appalachians 1880 Cable Grandissimes 17 LA, If you don't mind her you'll have a back-set, and the devil himself wouldn't engage to cure you. 1939 Hall Coll. eTN, I like to took a back-set when I got to knockin' about. 1942 (1971) Campbell Cloud- Walking 248 seKY, She said Marthy better get back to her younguns before they et up creation and took a back-set and died off. 1944 PADS2.32 NC, nSC, cTN, VA. 1946 Stuart Tales Plum Grove 96 seKY, I feel weak as water. I'll tell you that flu is bad stuff. I got up too soon and took a back-set. 1969 WVHist. 30.464 Appalachians, I was getting better, but now I've took a backset with this flu. 1970 DARE FW Addit KY 89. 1979 DARE File SC [Black], "He left the hospital too soon and had a backset." 1

2

An

eddy or countercurrent of water.

A

slow or negligible current. 1860 Greeley Overland Journey 274 wNV, We contrived to get stuck in a bayou or back-set of the Humboldt sink. 1882 Harper's Mag. 65.612/1 Missip Valley, Much of this was slack water, or the backset caused by the overflow. 1968 DARE (Qu. CI 4) Inf NY92, Backset. a

.

b

A

.

strong countercurrent.

Jimmy

1903 White Forest 94 MI,

dam and backset

.

.

was incontinently swept over a eddy below.

into the boiling back-set of the v,

hence back-setting vbl n

Upper

Dirty! Filthy!

MW

somewhat

old-fash

To replow prairie

autumn

land in

(thereby restoring

ridges to

its

their original position).

1880 Harper's Mag. 60.531/2 ND, In the fall the decayed furrow is which is termed "back-setting", and then the harrow is applied

reversed,

to tear the turf to tatters

.

.

The

.

cost of breaking, back-setting,

and

harrowing is about four dollars per acre. 1894 Congressional Record 3 July 8047/2 MN, In some cases it will pay to "break and back-set" the roadway to kill out the weeds. 1935 Sandoz Jules 60 wNE (as of

880- 930), He located new and broke out more. 1

settlers; in

1

return they backset his old land

.

arch

MA

.

The

.

back slap exclam CfZXSEE23b In the game of Antony-over: =pigtail exclam.

WELS (What do you call if the ball does not go over the building,

.

A

.

slaps

WELS

backslider exclam Also backslide Nth In the game of Antony-over: =pigtail exclam.

DN 3.60 NE, Backslider.

building

backside of nowhere n Also back of nowhere joe

=end of nowhere. portant place) Infs

GA84,

89,

An

out-of-the-way place, or a very unim-

KY88, TN26, TX32, Backside of nowhere;

MI67, Back of nowhere.

1905

DARE

backside outwards adv phr

.

.

backsliders' bench n CfDSCCS 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Backsliders' bench(es) back of the church.

,

— Seats toward the

adj

Backslidden; reprobate. 1949 Webber Backwoods Teacher 129 sAppalachians, Wanted to be baptized, but I never was in a backslode condition, livin' with them two ladies.

dress that mornin' backside

1950 WELS 1 Inf, cwWI, Back slider. If you fail to get the ball over the back, what do you call out?) Infs IA 1 1 WI24,

(Qu. EE23b,

and it rolls Backslider; OR6, Backslide.

^backslode ppl

backside of one's lap See back of the lap Backwards, or inside out. 1937 Hall Coll. eTN, "I put on my

(Different kinds of marble games) 1 Inf, ceWI, Back tracks; have to hit rail and come back to

strike marbles.

the trees to keep from slipping over the bank.

.

slap.

.

1967-68

.

cnWI, Back

— played between railroad

1949 Hornsby Lonesome Valley 279 VA, NC, Anything wide as a wagon would have to hug the backside of the road and practically graze

DARE (Qu. C33,

Inf,

marbles game: see quot.

1950

.

side of a road next to rising ground.

1967-70

1

back slaps n

.

2

.

1950

1896 Cambridge Proprietors Records 1, The Constable and other shall make a surueyinge of the Houses backsids lands. 1890 in 1 9 1 9 Hale Letters 246 RI, Only this stirs the back side to any activity. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Backside Backyard; the yard behind the house. in

1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 3 cPA Mts (as of c 1900), Baachie— Nasty tasting, filthy. 1939 Aurand Quaint Idioms 22 sePA, When youngsters in diapers get their hands in any kind of dirt, it is common to hear some adult say: "Baxy, baxy; pooh bah." (Baby talk for "dirty, dirty" 1981 DARE File nePA (as of c 1920), ['baeksi] was used by ). Pennsylvania Germans as an exclamation of warning to a child, meaning "Don't [do that]". A similar form, ['baeki], was heard in Iowa in 1979, with the same meaning.

but comes back?)

backside n 1 The backyard of a house, 1634

backsie adj.usuusedasexclam Also sp baachie, baxy [Probrel to Scots bach cow-dung] ?chiefly PA CfZ)5"NN23 See also bakkes

—

A back (something)

123

back (something)

To

surpass.

1922 D.X 5.155 eNE, This radiator's got the one backed off the boards.

in

my

apartment

backstrap v (under back 3). "to remove a back strip from pork"] 1904 White Mountains 85 SW, Next in order is the "back strap" and 1

tenderloin

backstaff n Cf backstay support; also

1953 Randolph

When

when Ozarks, Back-staff ... A support. certain tale "has got a back-staff supported by substantial evidence.

Down in Holler 225 man says that a

it,"

he means that

backstall v 1952 Brown back."

.

it is

.

them days

best broiled.

1926 AmSp Lord knows .

leave you

"I'll

is

hardly ever eat a mess in there without a 1938 Rawlings Yearling 250 FL, Penny cut

I

er back-strop.

.

.

notion,

eat a piece er venison since the

ain't

I

out the backstraps from the

supper pan."

my

Deer-steak, to

.

buck and

fattest

sliced

them

for frying for

when I'm done with

that backstrap

fry

.

the

back street n

NC Folk!.

1.517, Backstall

.

.

.

To hold

back: "to

stall

Rare.

.

.

... In

good piece

fig.

a mountain

behind

.

seGA,

1.414

A

back-to

/

DA

the boards v phr

off

the boards

off

A poor, usu residential, district. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. C35. Different parts of your town or city) Inf C047, Back street where the cribs [=brothels] were: NY92. Back street one part [of town]; (Qu. 1125, The part of town where the live) Inf LA32, The back street: NY92, Back street, poorer people 1

.

backstand v [Transf from hunting: hackstand another hound points]

to point

when

To

support or stand behind another. 1938 Sun (Baltimore MD) 28 Mar 7/4 (Bench Coll.), He has a right to and from Matchitank on the south, to Clam on the north be uppity folks will backstand Amos [a coon dog]. 1940 Hench Coll. VA, A native

—

Virginian (on the Univ Va faculty) said of someone standing up for the position taken by another man, "He'll backstand you every time."

.

—

—

.

.

.

.

tobacco road.

2

MD

A predominantly Black neighborhood. DARE

1968 Elton:

Cfblackbelt2

MD32. Back street— Negro

(Qu. C35) Inf

MD48. Back street— Negro area of Bel Air: (Qu.

—

Back street where colored people main street.

live

— means any

section in

1125) Inf MD36.

street, as

opposed

to

backstay n Cf backstaff The background of a story or event.

Down

3 See quot.

Holler 225 Ozarks, Back-stay The background, history, or antecedents that explain an occurrence. A story or anecdote is much more interesting after some old-timer tells you the back-stay. Judge Tom Moore says that the word was common at the turn of the century, but is seldom heard now.

1953 Randolph

in

.

.

back-step n S Midi

.

.

.

old-fash

1967-68

DARE

(The) back

street.

.

.

—

steps

— double-shuffle,

[M037,

back-step;

KY45, Back-step

— old

fashioned;

backswath v [backswath

To

backstick n chiefly sAppalachians, Gulf States

See

Map Cf

forestick

1917Z)A"4.387neOH,\T,IL,NY,5acfovvar/?

for that, as

we

sat

by the

Log, back-stick, fore-stick, top-stick, and superstruc1877 VT State Bd. Ag. Report 4.92, The boy ture, all in their place. would return to the wood-vard for the back stick and fore stick. 1941 LANE Map 330 (Log) 1 inf. seMA, Backstick. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX 45 c,eTX, There are nine Texas occurrences of back stick, a term that shows somewhat more currency in southern Arkansas. 1963 Edwards Gravel 92 eTN (as of 1920s), The fire?

.

glow on the back-stick played on his spectacles. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. D33) 29 Infs, chiefly sAppalachians, Gulf States, Backstick; LA6. Backstick of wood. dull

.

.

.

To reverse a mower

Done in beginning a field of hay or grain. 1921 AmSp 2.348 wcWV.

cut.

Back swath used in

.

.

,

around the field in the opposite direction from that

to cut

mowing the

grass, in

order to cut the grass driven over

Coll.

when the

field.

backswitch n [Reversed Changes" 1.1] 1939 Hall

1852 Harper's Mag. 6.132, What cared we

.

or reaper and cut in the opposite

or reaper and drive the horses back in the swath just cut. so as to cut the hay or grain just passed over by the machine and horses without being

1.

old-fashioned

37,

n]

mower

turn around a

driver enters the

Back-stepped].

=backlog

LA6,

recent dance steps) Infs

direction.

dance-step: see quots. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Back-step ... A step in dancing; by placing one foot behind the other, alternately. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. FF5a, Dance steps in past years) Infs AR18, KYI 9, Back-step; IN 13, Back-step a comical, backward "two-step"; KY5, Square dance .

More

backstrop See backstrap 2

A

.

(Qu. FF5b.

compound:

eTN, Backswitch

.

.

.

see

Intro

Switchback on a

[used by two speakers]. This word illustrates the reverse the order of elements in compounds.

"Language

trail

or railroad

mountain tendency

to

backtalking vbl n

Gossiping conversation. 1968 DARE (Qu. V behind your back, you 1

back teeth are

.

\\

'hen

you suspect

.

.

that ")

say, "There's

something

is

going on

Inf MI97. Backtalking.

floating phr For varr see quots

joe

Cf back-

water n 2

One's bladder is very full. Descriptive of distress 1914 D.V4. 102 KS, Back teeth under water from fullness of the bladder. 1923 DX 5.200 swMO, Back teeth's To express painful fullness of the bladder. 1950 WELS a-floatin' Inf. cWI. Back teeth are floating. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. BB20. Joking expressions for overactive kidneys) InfsNY34. PA202, (My) back teeth are floating; CT3. NC72. OH4, (My, your) teeth are floating; INT 3. 1

.

.

.

Jaw 2

.

.

.

1

.

.

teeth's a-floatin'.

One

has imbibed to excess.

1888 Missouri Republican Jan 25 (Farmer- Henley Slang Friday night

more drank

.

.

in

company with

until, as

.

.

90),

On

other gentlemen, his honour once

an onlooker put

it.

his

back teeth were well

afloat.

back the breeze v phr Cf back v 6

To

talk excessively.

1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Backin' the breeze man so gabby he makes the wind blow backwards.

—

Cf£>SEE23b game of Antony-over: =pigtail exclam.

back-tick exclam In the

1 950 H ELS ''What do you call if the ball does not go over the building, but comes back ) 1 Inf. cnWI, Back-tick.

back stock See back family backstrap n 1

See backhand.

2 also sp backstrop:

Venison

sliced

from the back of a deer.

[Cf

back-to adv phr See also back-to adj Cf backside-to With one's back toward (someone or something). 1950 Moore Candlemas Bay 207 ME, Evelyn had stayed back-to at the

back-to

backwoods gawky

/

124

drain board, hoping she might be able, in

some way,

to avoid facing a

stranger.

Std senses, in var

back-to adj

1

Of a

church: see quot. 1971 Courier-Gaz. (Rockland ME) 15 Aug 20/1 eME, In the late 1 840s ... the building was changed from the typical meeting house to what is colloquially known as a "back-to" church Bench pews were made to face the pulpit and entrance doors. Thus the designation "back-to"; in most churches the pews face away from the entrance. .

.

.

;back-tooth hog n

back

DARE (Qu.

to

—

taw adv phr [Cf OED taw sb 2

is

not worth

back up a car length

KS

—

MO,

addressed signifies that your tale From the R[ail] R[oad].

is

Back up a car length: to be thus improbable and should be modified.

backward-front See backwards-front

backward

in

coming forward

[OEDS

forward

1902 Harben Abner Daniel 1 36 GA,

—

1830

adj phr

Also backward in going

]

Reluctant, shy. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 24, Backward in coming forward. 1927 AmSp 3.136 ME, A pushing individual was "not backward in going forward." 1969 DARE (Qu. AA1 1, If a man asks a woman to marry him and she refuses) Inf MA42, She'd be backward in comin' forward.

l

Usu

esp Sth, Midi Pronc-spp areas, occas |'baekwud(z)|

n

adj, adv,

baek3t d(z)|; in

r-less

|

back'ard(s),

A

|'baekw3(r)d(z)| also,

backwoods

113

1

,

.

.

"He saw

1841 Cooperin 1944 ADD, Back'ard.

1 887 Scribner 's Mag. 2.479 AR, 1891 1.162 cNY, back'ards and for'ards on the river. 4. 1 78 ['baek»dz], 'backwards.' 1908 3.28 1 eAL, wGA. 1915 swVA. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 85 MS, Ah fus' step over dem tracks en had a step back ove'm ag'in back'ards. 1933 AmSp 8.1.51 Ozarks, He's jest a-fixin' t' fall over back'ards. 1936 AmSp 1 1 .235 eTX, The loss of[w] is usual in backwards ['baekydz]. 1942 Hall Smoky

DN

Gwine

DN

DARE (Qq. MM2,

.

.

.

['baek^dz], 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, She had her dress on backards. 1965-68

.

3) Infs

AR22, LA7,

1966 Wilson

['baekwudz].

DARE Tape NC29,

.

wNC,

Mt. Speech 93 eTN, ['baeka^dz]

DN

.

Coll.

The woof is

MS6

1

,

NC37,

Back'ards;

csKY, Backwards ['bask^dz].

MA4, 1966

the thread that goes in the bobbin that

DARE

goes back'ards ['baek^dz] and for'ards. 1975 brother wrote to tell me he could "skate backwoods."

B As

File

MA, My

,

1

.

backwater exclam

game of Antony-over:

DARE (Qu.

backway n

=pigtail exclam. EE23b) Inf MI92, Backwater.

[Engl dial in

same

EDD

sense; see

backway

.

.

.

.

"It's as poor as back'ards." He explained, when asked, that wine made from mash that has already been used once.

backwards-front adv phr Also back-front, backward-front For addit varr see quots

See also backside-to

Backwards; inside out. ") 1 Inf, cWI, Back1950 WELS ("She had her dress on front. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. MM2, "Look, you 've got your dress on .

OR4,

sb.

1

]

?obs

1899 (1912) Green the back of a house.

VA Folk-Speech, Backway

.

.

.

The yard or space at

backways adv [EDD backway wrongly, awkwardly] hindside-backways Cf DJE

See also

Backward. 1968

DARE (Qq. MM2,

3) Inf

LA45, Backways.

backwooder See backwoodser

backwoods See backward(s) backwoodser n Also backwooder,

backwoodster

by one person.

?chiefly

See also backwoods jockey, backwoodsey

often joe

.

.

LANE Map 450 (A Rustic) inf, swNH, BackDARE (Qu. HH1, Names and nicknames for a

1941

1965-68

1940 in 1944 Reported

.

1

DEI, GA44, MS56, NJ3, Backwoodser. 1967 IN Engl. Jrl. 2.2-3. 1 IN, Expressions for people from include the country who look awkward and out of place in town backwoodser, backwoodsman, clod. 1968 DARE Tape M025, He ran could speak into a lot of hardship because lots of these backwooders 1.349 IA, Backwooder [1 inf]. no English. 1973 Allen rustic or countrified person) Infs

=backings. 1938 Hench Coll. cVA, A resident native of Blackwell's Hollow commented that the new liquor was weak in contrast to

hind;

cWI,

.

woodser.

.

IL52, Backward(s)-front; KYI 9, Backwards-beBackwards-way-before; (Qu. MM3) Inf WI6, Backwards-in.

..") Infs

Inf,

1

91,

.

C As noun.

is

(Qu.

7 Infs,

v phr [Transf from naut use: see quots 1859, 1945] esp among male speakers Cf backwater

A countrified person; a rustic. cl935 in 1944 ADD nWV, Backwoodster ... A rustic. ADD PA, W'V, OH, Backwoodser ... A backwoodsman

moonshine:

1

PA 104, VA31,

In phr to get up backwards: to be irritable; to get up "on the side of the bed." See also hindside to 1941 Hall Coll. wNC, Me and Blondie got up backwards this morning. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.364, He got up backward.

wrong

back'ards

")

withdraw, as from an argument or position. 1844 Times-Picayune (New Orleans LA) 17 Mar 1/6, Day before yesterday Boston waked up under a new coverlid of snow, dropped from the clouds over-night. This makes business back water. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, To back water ... To retreat, or withdraw; a Western metaphor, derived from steamboat language. 1905 DN 3.2 cCT. 1907 DN 3.208 nwAR. 1919 Kyne Capt. Scraggs 150 CA, In order to earn that fifty dollars, I got to back water. It wouldn't be playin' fair if I didn't. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 28 ME, Cape Cod, and Long Island, Back water. To row a boat backwards. In shore speech it means to retract or hedge. 1950 PADS 14.12SC. 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.517c, eNC. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, When I began to tell him off, he began to back water. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. ") 28 Infs, 113 "He saw that he was wrong, so he started to chiefly Nth, Atlantic, Back water. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 47% were men; of those giving this response, 82% were men]; ME5, Backwatered;(Qu. JJ25, "He thought he could take the place over, but ") 9 Infs, NEast, Back water. I made him

Midi

adv.

.

DARE

nl To retreat,

1969

.

was a

,

.

or 'takes backwater.' 1965-70 that he was wrong, so he started to

2 See quot. joe Cf back teeth are floating 1950 WELS (Joking or nicknames for over-active kidneys) The backwater is standing in my eyes.

In the

Forms.

Backwards

didn't honestly think there

fight, 'crawfishes'

.

backward(s)

I

man in Georgia that could give me any tips about investments, but I had to take back water, and for a woman. 1909 DN 3.379 eAL, wGA. 1939 AmSp 14.92 cTN, He took back water on what he said about the preacher. Ibid 262 IN, A quiet, easygoing man when threatened

chiefly Nth, Atlantic

off; fired.

v phr

Univ. Qrly. 6.85

course,

Cf back water

v phr

back water

farm adj phr

railroad workers: laid

Laid 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 331 [Glossary], Back to the farm offon account of slack business. When a man is discharged he is given six months twice a year. 1977 Adams Lang. Railroader.

1897

To change

Midi

Take backwater; IL14, NC33, NJ2, Take water; (Qu. JJ40) Inf GA72, Take backwater.

1

to the

chiefly

chiefly Midi,

c for similar phrr]

1955 PADS 23.1 TN, Back to taw ... In certain situations a player must return to the point from which he rolled or shot his marble.

Among

phrr:

reverse one's position, retreat,

with a

In marble play: see quot.

back

fig

phr take backwater, occas take water:

in

.

K55, A pig that doesn't grow well and keeping) Inf DC8, Back-tooth hog can't eat corn. 1966

backwater n

HI 13,

.

.

.

.

.

LAUM

^backwoodsey n 1970 Tarpley Blinky 266 neTX, A poor white from the back coun8.5% [of 200 infs gave the responses] backwoodsman, backwood-

try

.

.

sey.

backwoods gawky

See gawky n

backwoods jockey

125

^backwoods jockey n

A

Also bacon up:

joe

1954 Milwaukee Jrl. (WI) 20 July green sheet 4, [Cartoon caption:] Let's ask him or his mule! Here comes a backwoods jockey

—

Also backy- house ?Sth Cfbakkie backhouse; a privy. 1949 also called backy. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA, Backhouse Privy. Ibid neGA, Backy-house. AmSp 24.109 e,neGA, Backy 1967-70 DARE (Qu. M21b) infs KY90, LA12, Backy.

backy n

1

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

backy n 2 See tobacco backyard n

(

1

909)

—

—

convert into bacon.

1829-30 Dunglison

in Va. Lit

bacon beetle n Also bacon bug The larder beetle (Dermestes lardarius).

ME

1832 Williamson Hist. 1.171, Dermestes Lardarius: Bacon Beetle. 1837 (1962) Williams Territory FL 68, The Insects of Florida are numerous Those most common, are Bacon Bug. Dermestes. 1854 Emmons Agriculture NY 5.60, The Dermestes lardarius commits the depredations in houses, usually in furs, meat, pork, bacon (whence it 1889 Century Diet. 1553/2, Deris sometimes called bacon bug). One species. D. lardarius, is known by the name of baconmestes .

Std sense, in var fig phrr: see quots. don't cl970 Halpert Coll. wKY, First clean up your own backyard talk about other people if there is anything you do wrong. [Also:] Clean up your own backyard before you look into others' yards. Ibid, Stay in mind your own business. your own backyard

To

Thomas Diary 2.76 MA,

Sent Legs of Pork to be baconed. Mus. 102 (DA), In Virginia, we hear of a man intending to "bacon his pork.' 1890 Congressional Record 20 Aug 8887/1 MS, We consumed or sold our own pork, and we baconed it ourselves. 1917 DN 4.407 wNC, Reckon I'll haffter kill that hog and bacon it up.

1821

farmer.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

beetle.

bacon meat n Cf Intro "Language Changes" 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.517 wNC, Bacon-meat

backyard bridge See back-alley bridge

1.4

.

backyard cousin n Cf backyard

relation

—

DARE File cwMA, Backyard cousin Heard from an 81 -yearwoman who didn't specify illegitimacy. She said, "A backyard cousin

1983 old is

somebody you're not

especially

1970

child and DS Zl la, b by illegitimate birth. 1939 (1962) Thompson Body & Britches 498 NY, He's relation: (their cat came over into our yard once).

bacon up See bacon a backyard

backyard telephone booth See telephone booth backdoor

chiefly

S Midi

See

years ago; a time in the remote past. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Back yonder ... A long time ago. "Away back yonder." 1906 3.125 nwAR, It happened some time away back yonder. 1925 5.356 sSC, eGA [Black]. 1938 Stuart Dark Hills 30 KY, I don't know what this world is a-comin' to. Back yander in my day it was different. 1963 Edwards Gravel 8 eTN (as of 1 920s), Renewal of association with Speedwell folks made me know again that "there ain't no differents now from back yonder." 1966 ")InfSC6, DARE (Qu. A24, "He's been hot-temperedfrom Way back yonder. 1967-70 DARE Tapes SC46, TN5 1, (Way) back yonder. 1967-69 DARE FW Addit ceNC, Back yonder— old days— heard in converold fashioned; seTN, Back yonder a long time ago sation with country people, reminiscing about when they were young.

DN DN

.

—

—

bacon

n, v

I'bekanl, rarely I'bekn, be'kin, 'bikan|

Pronc-spp

bakun

bakin,

A

Usu

Forms.

1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 459 IN, King's tuk the bakun with him. 1922 Gonzales Black BorderlW sSC, GA coast [Gullah glossary], Bakin— bacon. 1941 AmSp 16. 10 eTX [Black], Bacon, ['bekrj]. 1968 [see bacon B]. cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural GA seGA [Black], 1 inf, ['birkanj.

B As

in salt or brine,

chiefly Sth,

S Midi Also called salt

pork, white bacon

1740 (1942) Byrd Another Secret Diary 82 VA, Several gentlemen and dined and I ate bacon and greens. 1877 Bartlen Americanisms 1 32, In the South "bacon and collards" are a universal dish. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 72. 1904 DN 2.416 nwAR, Bacon Pork. Cured hog meat is bacon; fresh hog meat, pork. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX 62, For the sides of pork preserved in salt, usually at home, salt pork is most frequent Other terms in occasional use in Texas include bacon, side bacon. 1968 DARE (Qu. H38) Inf LA33, Bakeen [.be'kin] salt meat, unsmoked salted pork [FW: Infs spelling]. 1971 Wood Vocab. Changed Sth, Blocks of meat cut from the sides of a hog and salted Middlinfgjs and bacon range in choice from one-tenth to nearly one-third everywhere. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.290, [Ten] scattered infs., mostly in North Dakota, use bacon to designate salt pork.

came

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

C

As

verb.

SC,

.

.

GA

1888 Jones Negro Myths 54 GA coast, Me prommus fuh bactize er chile 1922 Gonzales Black Border 288 sSC, GA coasts

dis berry hour.

[Gullah glossary], Bactize

bad

— baptize, baptizes, baptized, baptizing.

adj

A Gram

forms.

Compar

badder; superl baddest. chiefly among less educ speakers Cf -er compar sufF, -est 1908 DN 3.284 eAL, wGA, Badder, baddest. 1940 AmSp 15.52 sAppalachians, Baddest. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 81 seTX [Black], Anytime a Texas Nigguh git bad de peoples say, "Dat Nigguh mus' be from de Brazos Bottoms," 'case dey hab de record for bein' de baddes' Nigguhs in de whole state. 1967 DARE (Qu. X52, A person who had been sick was looking) Inf OH 12, Badder. 1980 Folb Runnin' .

125 sCA [Black], My cousin, Dawson everythang he know.

Down

B

Titus Hanes,

is

.

.

badder.

He

.

taught

Senses.

—

EDD

ill or injured. [OED bad 8, 1748 ; bad 2] See also bad sick 1716 (1901) Hempstead Diary (AmSp 15.226) CT, Joshua was taken Extream bad about Midnight. 1737 (1974) Parkman Diary 1.42 MA, I was called away to see old Captain Byles, who was very bad with his Throat. 1840 ( 84 Dana Two Years 405, One of our watch was laid up for two or three days by a bad hand, (for in cold weather the least cut or bruise ripens into a sore). 1889 Nelson 50 Yrs. 339 West, Frank was now very bad, and we did not know what to do with him. I went again up the hill and dug some roots, which I cut up and placed on the wound. 1963 Edwards Gravel 105 eTN (as of 1920s), Hey, Doc, git up as soon as ye can and go to Mark Lane's. His wife is awful bad. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB42. If a person is very sick, you say he's ) 15 Infs, scattered, Bad; CA17. CO20, FL39, IL123, IN76, MD28, PA 133, Real bad: CT9. FL17. MOM, PA70. Very bad: MD35. NY126, 213. Prettv bad; KY10. VA1. Awful bad; 16, PA 199. Really bad.

Seriously

1

.

.

1

1 )

.

noun.

Pork cured

C

Baptize.

many

.

sprout.

bactize v Pronc-sp for baptize See Prone Intro 3.1.14 coasts Gullah

trot 1

back yonder adv, sometimes quasi-noun also away adv 1 In former days,

K51) Inf KY86. Bacon

Bacon.

.

bacquero See buckaroo

relative

trots See

DARE (Qu.

.

—]

bacon-stretcher See stretcher

backyard relation n Cf yard

backyard

tbacon sprout n [Cf OED bacon hog 1 709 A young pig.

proud to own."

backyard garbage See back-alley bridge

A

bad

/

.

.

MO

Not well; out of Map on p. 26 2

sorts;

enervated,

chiefly Sth,

S Midi

See

1

.

cwTN, Dog if I ain't feelin' bad dis mornin'; ain't drag one foot fore othern. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. BB39. On a day when you don't feel right, though not actually sick "I'll be all right tomorrow I'm just feeling today. ") 68 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, Bad: (Qu. KK30, Feeling slowed up or without energy) 10 Infs, Sth, S Midi, Bad. 1954 Harder

hardly able

Coll.

[to]

.

—

3 Sorrowful; depressed.

EDD

[See 1839 Marryat Diary 2.33, Badis used

in

bad

.

3]

an odd sense;

it is

employed for

bad

bad day

/

126

VA

[1912 Green pretty

bad

Bad

Folk-Speech,

in his time."]

1981

.

.

.

Leading an

"He's been

evil life.

AmSp 56.40, In the South and Midland,

bad enters into several combinations with meanings that employed elsewhere. Thus bad man is a euphemism for the 'devil,' and bad place for 'hell' with geographical distributions strikingly similar to that for bad child.

the formative are not

.

,

.

Of an animal: bad-tempered, mean, chiefly Sth, Midi 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. K 1 6, A cow with a bad temper) Infs GA 1 6, M08, NC79, 81, SC26, TX16, 37, Bad cow; DC5, OH65, Bad; (Qu. K42, A

8

is rough, wild or dangerous) Infs AL1 GA3, KY58, NC26, PA1, VA68, WI6, Bad horse; DC1, IN69, Bad actor; PA10, Bad one; (Qu. K68, A goat that habitually strikes people) Infs MS60, M03, Bad goat; MSI, Bad billy; MD38, Bad buck.

horse that

1

.

,

.

bad adv In a bad or faulty manner; poorly, wrongly. 1816 in 1915 Hist. Mag. 10.273 MD, Land of not much Account farm'd bad. 1831 (1940) Motte Charleston to Harvard^ SC, It is not quite so certain that some light-fingered rogue may not behave bad by paying his devotions to my chattels in my absence. 1891 ( 905) Ryan Told in Hills 333 WA, I was just mean enough to treat her pretty bad flung her on the floor when she tried to stop me. 1

•bad adj B2

MD

KK30)

(Qq. BB39,

awkward, uncomfortable, sorry "Se [sic] was so bad, I thought she would cry," sorry. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 83 IN, "Why, how do you feel?" "Kind o' bad and lonesome, and like as if I wanted to die." 1887 Freeman Humble Romance 38 NEng, I felt too bad to cry. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Bad depressed. .

.

.

1

—

1

.

4

by

foil

.

.

Very much

infin or for:

chiefly Appalachians, esp

inclined, very likely or prone.

wNC, eTN

See also awful

3,

easy

adj 3

1918 DA' 5.20 NC, He is bad to fight. 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, eTN, "He was bad to hunt coon." "She is awful bad to talk." "Old Sam McGaha was a bad man to drink." "Little John Cable was perty bad to cuss." 1942 Warnick Garrett Co. 3 (as of 1900-1918), Bad for prone to. "John is so bad for that." 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks that 24 eTN, wNC, Zeke was the meanest of the lot. He burned Creek George's barn an' cut the years (ears) off a man named Miles. Zeke was awful bad to drink. 1967 Green Horse Tradin 4 West, He was hard to saddle, hard to mount hard to ride although he was not bad to buck. 1967 DARE FW Addit swNC, I'm bad to—\ do it often, unfortunately. "I'm bad to talk like that." 1968 Foxfire 23-4.23 cwNC, "Bad" often indicates excessive interest "He was awful bad to pay attention to the signs," means that he was very interested in the use of the signs of the zodiac for planting his crops and the like. 1968-70 DARE ") Inf NC49, Bad for smoking; (Qu. (Qu. DD9a, "He's ') InfTN66, Bad "Be careful what you say to him, he's GG8, to take exception. 1976 Wolfram -Christian Appalachian Speech 73, Well, now my folks never was bad to use whiskey for anything like that

MD

.

.

.

2 Very; very

much;

Note: in post- verbal position, as / widespread; in other, esp pre-adj positions, this usage is appar Sth, Midi. Cf bad sick 1845 Hooper Advent. Simon Suggs 24 AL, Bob kin do it, it's reasonable

want to go so bad,

severely.

this usage

is

to s'pose that old Jed'diah Suggs won't be bothered bad.

Ibid 94,

"Pshaw!" said Suggs, "you aint bad hurt." 1859 (1922) Jackson Col. 's Diarv 21 PA, Some of them appeared bad scared. 1905 DN 3.3 CT. 1907 DN 3.209 nwAR. 1926 Roberts Time of Man 266 KY, I was bad cut up over that and throwed away all the money ever I had saved up. 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, This water's not bad cold. 1967 Green Horse Tradin 1 52 West, The next morning it was a bad cold morning. 1969 DARE (Qu. BB27) Inf KYI 9, Struck bad awful fast. '

'

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

bad-ass(ed) adj, n chiefly among Black speakers Mean-tempered; a belligerent person; see also quot 1980. 1956 AmSp 31.191, A marine who postures toughness is sarcastically labeled a badass or a hairy-assed marine. 1970 Abrahams Deep Down 79 Philadelphia PA [Black], I'm that bad-ass so-and-so they call 'StackoI'ma reach in my cashmere and pull out my bad-ass gun. 1970 DARE (Qu. HH17) Inf CA 177, Bad-ass, hard guy, heavy dude. Chicago1972 Intellectual Digest Aug 6, Melvin Van Peebles, the born black militant whose Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is the has no place most violently successful independent movie ever made 1980 Folb Runnin' Down 228 [Black], Bad-ass(ed) of his own. Shiftless (negative intensiBelligerent Worthless Mean lee'

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[=toothache].

5 with

after: Intensely desirous.

See also bad off 3

1941 Stuart Men ofMts. 252 neKY, How would you dream-wife in the arms of a man bad after women.

.

like to

.

.

see

your

PADS

1958

The

[Language

30.43

of

jazz

Bad...

musicians],

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

child n [bad adj B7]

A

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

—

OH 100 [White], You might describe someone's clothes, as being bad, or Or cool, or groovy. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 59 [Black], He is a bad dude would suggest to whites the idea of an undesirable character, whereas to blacks it would indicate a highly desirable person. Ibid 225, You ever hear of the Titanic? Now this here ship was the biggest and baddest ship ever to sail the sea. 1 980 Folb Runnin' Down 35 [Black], Like if you have a buncha friends, he the baddest. Real tight partner. sharp, or something like that.

.

.

.

7 in var combs: Malicious, devilish, noxious. (Note: whereas bad is most commonly employed in a privative sense, "not good," DARE evidence sugg several regional combinations in which bad has retained absolute force, "evil") [See OED bad a. 5-8] chiefly Sth, Midi See also bad child, bad man 2, bad place, bad religion, bad sick

.

.

chiefly Sth,

Midi See

Map

espfreq

malicious or devilish child. 965 - 70 DARE (Qu. Z 1 6, A small child who is rough, misbehaves, and doesn't obey) 50 Infs, chiefly Sth, Midi, Bad child. [16 Infs Black] 1

listener

.

.

among Blacks

must determine meaning fr[om] context, tone of voice, facial expression Oca, older. 1965 Brown Manchild 281 NYC [Black], The slang had changed. In this day when somebody would say something about a bad cat, they meant that he was good. 1970 DARE (Qq. KKla, b Very good, for example, "That pie was "; "His farm is ") Inf MO30, Bad; (Qu. W38, When a man dresses himself in his best clothes, you say he's ) Inf VA39, Bad younger slang usage. [Both Infs Black] 1970 DARE Tape .

.

.

fier).

bad

6 Good, excellent, worthy of esteem or value; hence baddest best, chiefly among Black speakers See also bad-doing, bad hair, bad nigger, bad rags

Good

.

.

bad clothes See bad rags

bad day See bad time

7

bad disease

127

bad disease n Also bad disorder

A

A

chiefly sAppalachians

Venereal dis1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bad disorder 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words cPA Mts (as of cl900), Bad disorder. 1949 Nelson Backwoods Teacher 247 (Hench Coll.) sAppalachians, Hi Slocum carried an extra large "seed-hog's tush" in his pocket it was the surest way to keep from when he went "a visitin'," because 1958 PADS 29.7 TN, Syphilis is always getting "ary bad disease." cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bad disreferred to as the bad disease. Any venereal disease. "I'm afraid that boy's got a bad disease." ease .

.

.

ease.

.

.

.

which an inexperienced person plays referee between a badger and a dog: see quot 1961. 1929Dobie Vaquero 180, We stopped at Las Animas long enough to see practical joke in

in a fake fight

venereal disease.

.

bad man

/

.

Western jokers

a badger fight, but as this institution of practical

is,

like

expounded in polite print, we'll let it pass. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 320 TX, The loafin' months in the winter came to be knowed as "snipe-huntin' season" and "badger the song, too "technical" to be

season."

had

Ibid 32

1

"Pullin' the badger" got to be a standard joke ...

,

it

on an Easterner who knowed absolutely nothin' 'bout they'd gather 'round 'im and begin talkin' excitedly

to be pulled

the West

.

.

.

.

.

baddo See bateau A

Declarin' they'd have to have some 'bout the comin' badger fight disinterested party, they'd begin lookin' 'round and suddenly discover

bad-doing adj [bad adj B6]

the greener

.

as to

First-rate, superior.

1965 Brown Manchild 304

NYC, Any

decent, self-respecting

whore

could pull at least two hundred dollars on Saturday night in some of the bad-doing bars on 125th Street. Ibid 281, Somebody would see Sidney Pokier in a film, and they'd say, "Man, that's a bad-doin' nigger." .

how

.

.

.

.

.

some cowhand would

to pull the badger

.

.

When

.

new referee some advice they got to the place of the fight,

give the

was the dog Nearby was the tub the badger was supposed to be under, and there was a rope runnin' out some distance from beneath the When he [the "referee"] was ordered to "pull" he gave the rope a tub there

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

hard yank jes' as one cowhand tipped up the tub from the rear There was no badger on the end of the rope at all. but one of them vessels usually found under the bed at night. 1967 DARE Tape TX43, Badger fight The tenderhorn pulls on a rope which he thinks attaches to the badger to pull him out for the fight but which actually attaches to a .

.

baddy-bread See

batter bread

1

bad eye n chiefly among Black speakers Cf bad mouth n 1 The evil eye: a curse or threatening glance. 1887 ( 967) Harris Free Joe 231 ceGA, Den de Miss Stucky won't git

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

—

piss-pot.

1

atter

badgerweed See badger

eye,

n among Black speakers Cf bad bad 1942 Amer. Mercury 55.94 NYC [Black], Bad

you wid de kyards en cunjur you. Dat de 'oman got er mighty bad mon. 1970 Major Afro-Amer. Slang, Bad eye: a threatening Where one person supposedly casts glance. \91fS DARE (Qu. CC14, a spell over another) Inf OH95, Gave him the bad eye. .

.

A

lead miner.

1899 (1912) Green badly."

[See quot 1937]

1834 in 94 AmSp 1 6. 1 05 MO, Badgers von den Blei minen Missouris [=Badgers from the lead mines of Missouri]. 1835 Hoffman Winter in West (NY) 1.176, There was a keen-eyed leather-belted "badger" from the mines of Ouisconsin. 1937 Shankle Nicknames 588, 1

1

.

.

was applied to the early lead miners, who on first coming to a new location dug in the side of a hill and lived under ground much as the

Badger

.

.

.

badger digs in his burrow.

—

2 also attrib: A native or resident of Wisconsin a nickname applied to lead miners in southwestern Wisconsin. 1835 [see 1 above]. 1844 Knickerbocker 24.286 WI, Do you know that there is such a country as Wisconsin? that the inhabitants are called 'badgers'? and that the forests they clear and the houses they rear fully attest their right to that title? 1955 Shankle Nicknames, Badger first

.

State

.

.

.

Wisconsin.

.

—

3 An old man used as a general epithet, usu of disparagement. Cf codger 1 1834 Life Andrew Jackson 92 TN, The gineral compelled .

.

lolly-poop, sea-crab, caper merchant, Badger

he cou'd lay hands upon tu muster in his army. 1944 Wellman Bowl 267 KS, Knew an old, tough, ornery cowman without an iota of education, culture, or cleanness 1968 DARE just an old plains badger. Addit nePA, Dirty old badger. An old man with a dirty mind. Common, rural. 1970 DARE (Qu. HH40, Uncomplimentary words for an old every

.

.

"Sc.

and

n. counties"]

.

B6

— Negro type

hair.

Cf poorly-

.

badly

off

VA

See bad off

2,

Folk-Speech, Badly.

.

"He

looks

killer; see also

quot

.

Sickly

.

.

.

3a

bad man n 1

A

desperado, outlaw, or professional

1977.

chiefly

West now

hist

1855 Santa Barbara (Calif.) Gaz. 28 June 1/4 (OEDS), The 'bad man' was floored by the weight of a walking stick that the quaker had been known to carry. 1907 White AZ Nights 72, There's a good deal of romance been written about the "bad man," and there's about the same amount of nonsense. The bad man is just a plain murderer, neither more nor less. He never does get into a real, good, plain, stand-up gun fight if he can possibly help it. 1922 Rollins Cowboy 54 West, All actual 'bad men' were wholly untrustworthy, were natural killers, moral and mental degenerates, inhuman brutes who would slay for personal gain or merely to gratify a whim. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West 17, The word badman could have any number of meanings read into it. It was used with both admiration and distaste: decent men had "misunderstandings," killed a man, and bore the title; so did men who had their own way simply .

.

.

through ruthlessness or

skill

with a gun.

.

.

.

—

FW

man) Inf VA67, Badger. 4 A chamber pot. joe See also badger fight 1968 DARE FW Addit swVA, Badger same as thunder mug. 5 also badgerweed: =pasqueflower.

—

and often cap: The Devil, chiefly S Midi See Map euphem Cf bad place, boogerman 2 1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 277 Sth, De Bad Man = the Devil. 1915 Z).V4.180swVA. 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1. 517, Bad man The devil. 2 usu preceded by the or old, Sth,

.

.

cwTN, Old Bad Man

...

The

devil.

.

badger bird n =marbled godwit. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds

206, Maynard, in Birds of Eastern Massachusetts, 1870, records Badger-Bird. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.58, Marbled Godwit Vernacular Names In local use. Badger-bird, brant-bird (Mass.). 1955 Forbush-May Birds 205.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

badgerbrush n

A

coralberry (here: Symphoricarpos occidentalis). 1920 Torreya 20.25 ND, Symphoricarpos occidentalis .

.

badgerbrush.

fight n Also called pulling the badger Hence also badger season SW, esp TX Cf badger 4, DS CC 1

.

—

Coll.

Jrl. Amer. Folk!. 9.179, Anemone patens badger, general in 1900 Lyons Plant Names 311, Badger-weed. 1950 WELS (Pale blue flowers with downy leaves and petals that bloom on hillsides in March or early April) 1 Inf, csWI, Badgers, windflowers, pasque flowers.

1896

.

Usually to children to induce good behavior. "If you don't stop crying the (old) bad man will get vou." General. Obsolescent. 1954 Harder

Wis.

badger

adj hair

Sick, unwell.

badger n 1

[EDD

badly adj

bad-feeling days See bad time

5

hair

•bad

man

2 +

var

(Qu. CC8)

cl960 Wilson

Coll.

csKY,

'

badman's oatmeal

bad order

/

128

if you talk like that. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX The Bad Man (15 [infs]) is in restricted use, and appears to be archaic. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. CC8) 69 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, (The) bad man [Among Infs of all age groups]; MN33, Bad man with the 1 .384, Devil pitchfork. 1973 Allen LA bad man [is reported by 27 infs throughout the Upper Midwest].

The bad man will get you 71,

UM

badman's oatmeal n oatmeal =poison hemlock

[bad

.

man

2

+

.

.

Cf OED,

oatmeal]

EDD

devil's

1.

Bad-man's1900 Lyons Plant Names 1 13, Cfonium] maculatum 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 46, Poison Hemoatmeal. Bad-man's-oatmeal. 1951 Teale Other common names lock North Spring 2 1 8 NC, The harvest of an American plant hunter may include badman's oatmeal, truelove, tread softly. .

.

.

.

.

bad mouth n [badmouth

v]

.

.

.

.

among Black

chiefly

speakers

Cf

bad eye esp in phr put (the) bad mouth on: A curse, a spell. 1853 (1890) Simms Partisan 182 SC [Black], Maybe he would have a or he has an enemy, and would have a bad mouth put love charm upon him, shall make him shrivel up and die by inches, without any 1922 Gonzales Black Border 288 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah disease. a spell, a form of curse. 1927 Kennedy Gritny glossary], Bad mout' assured him that she would be the "las' person 112 sLA [Black], She in dis worl' to put bad mouth on him an' roll any stone in his way." 1930 To suggest an evil contingency is supposed DN 6.19 cSC, Badmouth to bring it about. Such a suggestion is referred to in the expression, "Don't put bad mouth on me." Fairly general. 1965 Brown Manchild 26 NYC [Black], If one of these ole people put the bad mouth on you, maybe you'll be satisfied. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. CC14) Infs SC19, 54, Put the bad mouth on; SC26, Put bad mouth on [Black Inf]; SC44, Bad mouth used jokingly by Whites. 1970 Hyatt Hoodoo 255 NYC [Black], I have known people that have had the record of saying that they could put a bad mouth on you. They would say, "so-and-so will happen to you," and you will not go very far before something will happen to 1

.

.

— .

.

.

.

.

—

1965 Brown Manchild 281 NYC [Black], Somebody would see Sidney Poitier in a film, and they'd say, "Man, that's a bad-doin' nigger." They didn't mean that he was running out in the street cutting somebody's throat But this was all that a bad nigger meant to Mama and Dad and the people their age. It was the bad-nigger concept from the South, but it didn't mean that any more. 1969 Hannerz Soulside 115 DC [Black], The "gorilla" type of ghetto man is idealized in long elaborate rhymes (known as "toasts") about legendary "bad niggers." 1970 Major Afro- Amer. Slang, Bad nigger: a black person who refuses to be meek or who rejects the social terms of poverty and oppression the culture designs for him. 1977 Adams Bad Mouth 1 [Black], A "bad .

.

nigger"

bad 1

is

a

.

.

.

good brother.

off adj

phr

In poor circumstances or condition.

1815 Humphreys Yankey in England 11, Bad as I am off, I wouldn't conditions. 1891 (1967) Freeman New Engl. Nun 221, Eph couldn't be so dreadful bad off. 1915 DN 4.180 swVA, Bad Poor. 1917 DN 4.387 neOH. 1927 AmSp 2.348 WV, Bad off. used to denote a time when one's business affairs are not in good off. condition. 1 966 - 68 DARE (Qu. U4 a, Somebody who has lost every-

swop .

.

.

,

1

thing

and is

very poor: "He's

") Infs

MT5, LA37, NY109, Bad

off.

2 also rarely badly off: In a poor state of health, very ill. widespread, but esp Sth, S Midi See Map Cf bad sick 1863 Gilmore S. Friends 1 3 NYC, She's very bad off, very bad indeed. 1893Shands MSSpeech, Badoff. Used by all classes to mean un well, sick. 1903 Burnham Jewel 125 NY, "She's very badly off, very badly off, I'm afraid." "I hope not, sir. Children are always flighty if they have a littlefever." 1908 DA'3.288 eAL, wG\,Badoff. .. Seriously ill. 1915 D.V 4.180 swVA. 1917 DN 4.387 neOH. Ibid 407 wNC. 1919 ZW 5.76 NEng. 1941 Harder Coll. cwTN, If she gets Bad off you call us. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB42, Ifa person is very sick you say he's ) 98 Infs. chiefiv Sth, S Midi, Bad off; NY73, Pretty bad off; FL10, Real "He bad off; (Qu. BB38) Inf WI18. Bad off; (Qu. BB44, pneumonia. ") Inf KYI 9, Got bad off with. .

.

.

.

you.

2 Transf: see quots.

DARE (Qu. Y3,

1966-67

one) Infs SC7,

To say uncomplimentary things about someTX37, Put the bad mouth on ('em). 1970 Major

Afro- Amer. Slang 22, Bad mouth: malicious

3 Transf: a person who speaks rudely 1968

DARE (Qu.

Down 228

II36a) Inf

[Black],

PA94,

Bad mouth

A

bad mouth.

— One

argumentative manner

belligerent, or

gossip.

to others.

.

.

1980 Folb Runnin

who talks One who .

in

a provocative,

talks badly

about

others.

badmouth v [See quots 1949, 1977 Smitherman] esp among Black and young White speakers Cf fat-mouth, sweet-mouth

To

speak

of someone; see also quot 1949.

ill

1941 Sat. Eve. Post 5 Apr 9/2 sOH, He bad-mouthed everybody. 1949 Turner Africanisms 233. [bod mmjt] 'to curse,' 'to put a spell on,' i.e., 'to bad mouth.' Cf. the Vai expression [da nama] 'a curse,' lit. 'a bad mouth.' 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Y3, To say uncomplimentary things about someone) 10 Infs, scattered, Badmouth; (Qu. Y4) Inf CA 184, To badmouth. [2 of 1 1 Infs Black, 6 young] 1972 Claerbaut Black Jargon, Badmouth to slander, to verbally attempt to destroy another's reputation. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 45, Bad mouth, to talk about somebody 1977 negatively, from Mandingo dajugu, literally "bad mouth." Adams Bad Mouth 1, "Bad mouth" in its pure original is an active transitive verb with the odor of the ghetto upon it, and a meaning akin to "denigrate." "Bad mouth" is a black term primarily. Ibid 2, Baddirected mouthing amounts to nothing more than vocal hostility immediately against the victim. 1979 WI State Jrl. (Madison) 20 Oct 3/3 csNY, [A judge had sentenced a man to wash out his mouth with soap for shouting obscenities to a policeman. The judge said later:] "I use it [=such a sentence] just if somebody bad-mouths a police officer who .

.

.

.

really has

.

.

.

.

no comeback."

3 withybr or

to:

a also badly

off:

Pus.

MS

.

[baednis], also used:

bad nigger n Also bad-doing nigger [badadjB6] among Black speakers

A Black

.

off for horses.

b Desirous (to do something). Sth See also bad adj B5 1845 Hooper Advent. Simon Suggs 1 52 AL, Yes, send for your maralso 1893 Shands MS Speech, Bad off. if you're bad off to. shal means anxious for or desirous of as, "He is bad off for a gun." 1942 I'm bad off to Faulkner Go Down 89 nMS, I needs to go to bed sleep. 1967 Green Horse Tradin 1 68 swTX, He didn't know how bad off I was to sell these little mules. .

.

.

1943 LANE Map 513 (Pus) 1 inf, nwCT, Badness The badness is coming out of that boil.

'

bad order n Chiefly

person

who commands

the respect of other Blacks.

[EDD bad

1794 ( 1 936) Parrv Jrl. 383 PA, He told me when he 1 st settled this place, he feared he sho'd be bad off for water. 1821 ( 1 898) Fowler Jrl. 1 5 KY, Haveing left two be Hind and three more unfitt for survice makes us bad of [sic] for horses. 1852 ( 1 854) Bartlett Personal Narr. 2.490 RI, We Speech, Bad should have been badly off for fodder. 1893 Shands sometimes means poorly provided with; as, This country is bad off.

.

badness n

Wanting; in need of (something).

8(3), 1863]

1

A

among

railroad workers:

defective locomotive or railroad

car.

.

.

.

bad pay

129

[1940 Cottrell Railroader

1

1

When a defective car is found by the car

8,

on it.] Crippled car or locomo1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 33 Bad order tive. [1977 Adams Lang. Railroader, Bad order: A command placed on The car is not to be moved, a card and tacked to a defective car if the repairs are too extensive to be made on the except to the rip track siding where it stands.] inspector, he tacks a small card with 'Bad Order' in bold lettering 1

—

,

.

.

.

.

.

2 Transf: see quots.

1947 Beebe Mixed Train 353, Bad order: Equipment in disrepair. now used 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 6 Pacific NW, Bad order to mean anything in the camp which is broken or not in shape to work, A 1962 AmSp 37.131 nCA, Bad-order either men or machines. term originally applied to a railroad car in need of repairs; now used to refer to anything defective. 1969 AmSp 44.254 Chicago IL, Bad order 1: Defective material or equipment 2: Incompetent employee. .

.

.

.

.

.

—

bad pay n Also bad paymaster

Sth,

S Midi

1965-70 DARE (Qu. U17, A person who doesn't pay his bills) Infs AL17, DE3, MD42, NC6, TN24, TX26, Bad pay; LA28, He's bad pay; AL60, LA8, MS60, Bad paymaster. .

bad place n

.

Midi See

chiefly Sth,

/

bag

Bad Religion am still foot loose in de country. Sistuh Mariah speshly hab a habit of complainin' all de time; she hab a mean habit an' a haa'd haa't [=hard heart] an' she alius savin' mean things 'bout de preachuhs She 'speshly don' hab no good blood for anan' de membuhship othuh sistuh in de chu'ch. dat

.

bad sick

adj

Inland Sth Seriously

.

.

[EDD Map

phr See

—

1679

]

chiefly Sth,

S Midi,

but esp

ill.

Mary

Unex was sick, bad 1929 Sale Tree Named John 100 MS, Ah jes kep' feelin' dat baby callin me, en Ah knowed hit wuz bad sick. 1939 Folk-Lore (London) 50.3 14 nVV'V, If a person is bad sick. he will die when the moon changes. 1942 in 1944 ADD nKS, '[My brother is] bad sick.' Rural. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB42, Very sick) 30 Infs, scattered Sth, S Midi, but esp Inland Sth, Bad sick. 1966 DARE Tape NC54, The kid got bad sick an' the closest doctor was fourteen miles. 1969 DARE File ceKY, Had a bad-sick spell ... To be very sick for quite a while. 1979 Verbatim 6.3. 14 MO, Badsickmeanl it was time 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister sick If he died she could not .

.

.

.

.

bear

321 SC, it.

.

.

to call the undertaker.

Map euphem Cfbadman2

Hell.

1899 ( 9 1 2) 1 884 Harrison Negro Engl. 277 Sth, De Bad Place = hell. Green VA Folk-Speech 73. 1913 Porter Laddie 146, He exploded in a kind of a snarl that meant, I'll see you in the Bad Place first. 1915 DN 4.180 swVA, Bad-place Hell. 1943 Caldwell GA Boy 51, 1 thought when I come to that I was in the bad place. I sure thought I had been knocked all the way down to there. 1950 WELS (Other words for hell) 2 Infs, swWI, Bad place. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Old bad place Hell. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, He's not afraid of the bad 1965-70 DARE (Qu. place or he wouldn't talk thata-way. ") 69 Infs, chiefly "That man is headed straight for CC9, Sth, Midi, (The) bad place. 1968 Kellner Aunt Serena 2 sIN (as of c 1930), On the way home in the surrey, Aunt Serena was very sharp ... I was a careless, thoughtless girl, and if I did not mend my ways, I would certainly go to The Bad Place. (This term covered all references to eternal torment. The word "hell" was never used except by ministers, by Lawnie our hired man, and occasionally by my Grandfather.) 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

•bad sick

bad spot

in

bad time n

(Qu.

BB42)

the road See bad place Similarly

bad day,

in the

road

bad-feeling days,

bad week

Menstruation. 1954 AmSp 29.298 TX, OK, FL [Vernacular of menstruation]. Bad time [in use among women]. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. AA27) Infs MA29, NJ13, NY234, (Her) bad time; M032, Her bad time, her bad week; MI87, Bad time of the month; CA134, PA221, My bad day; AR47. Bad-feeling days.

bad weave See bad rags

bad-weed

milk n

=bitterweed milk. 1 966 DARE (Qu. K in the pasture) Inf

1

4,

MS2

Milk that has a tastefrom something the cow ate Bad- weed milk. 1

,

bad week See bad time •bad place

(Qu. CC9)

around v phr

baffle

1970ZX4.R.£'(Qu. A10,

bad place

A

the road n Also bad spot in the road

in

small, unimportant, or out-of-the-way settlement.

1967-68 DARE (Qu. C33) Inf TX45, bad spot

A bad place in the road; LA27, A

in the road.

j.baft

Black speakers

DARE

(Qu.

W39, Joking ways of referring to a person's best Bad clothes clothes in the latest fashion; bad rags.

—

1972 Claerbaut Black Jargon, Bad

[Inf Black]

bad weave nice bad rags The cat 's got some bad rags. .

bad

.

.

Inf FL51,

CfDS LL8b

quantity or large number (of something). 1896 DN .41 1 neTX, "There was a great baft of people." 1

bag n Usu

Stylish clothes.

1968

n ?obs

")

A

bad rags npl Also bad clothes, bad weave [badadjB6] among

clothes), Inf PA66,

When somebody takes too long about coming to

a decision, you might say, "I wish he'd quit Baffling around.

.

.

clothes;

.

.

.

handsome

Stylish; in vogue: a

or attractive

attire:

Forms. 1939 L.4NE Map

149, [Bag is usu [bag], freq [bseig], occas [baeag, cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural GA seGA, Bagis usu [baeig], often [baeg], occas [beig, bag]. 1980 DARE File csWI, Bag is widely pronounced [beig]. baeeg]].

B

religion n [bad adj B7]

1

Reprehensible or hypocritical behavior on the part of a person purporting to be religious. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos xiii seTX [Black], Bad Religion Good Religion [Headings for groups of stories]. Ibid 52, She sho'-fire proof .

.

.

also |baeig, beig|, occas |bag|

|baeg|,

A

Senses. In

To

fig

phrr in the bag, put the bag on and varr:

be or become drunk,

1951 Spillane Big Kill 51

NY, CT See

also bagged on and looked it. Just beginning to show the effects of the

chiefly

NYC, He had

half a bag

1967-69 DARE(Qu. DD13, Partly drunk) CT7, NY 10, (Half) in the bag; (Qu. DD14, Infs CT9, 29, NY 10, 21 1, Half in the bag; (Qu. DD15, Thoroughly .

liquor) Infs

.

.

.

.

.

bag

bagoong

/

130

drunk) Infs CT35, 37, In the bag; (Qu. DD16, To have a drinking bout and get drunk) Inf NY76, Putting the bag on.

2 Transf: to participate in a raucous party.

1969 DARE (Qu. FF18, A noisy or boisterous celebration or party: "They certainly last night. ") Inf NY2 3, Put the bag on. .

.

1

bag v

majority of cases, does not mean the material for making bags generally, but the hempen bags made specially for packing cotton. 1966-69 DARE (Qq. F19, 20, A cloth container for grain [or] feed) Inf TX26, Bagging; MS45, Bagging sack; NC50, Tow sack, tow bag, baggin's; TX62. Bagging sack chicken; cowfeed sacks are still sold in bags which are fine enough to make cup towels and dresses out of. They wear like

—

come

linen,

in nice prints.

usu in phrr bag school, bag it: To play truant, chiefly PA, esp Philadelphia area, and sNJ (See maps in Kurath Word Geog.

baggonet See bagonet

Figs 22, 158)

Jbaggy n joe

1

1889 AN&Q 2.297/2, The expression for playing truant by school boys Camden, New Jersey, is to "bag it." 1892 DN 1.216 swNJ, Hookey .. In Camden, N.J., the boys 'bag it.' 1934 (1947) O'Hara Appointment 203 PA, She had taught him in Sunday School, and did not report him on Sunday afternoons when he "bagged it" to go to a ball game. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 35, Bag school is common in Philadelphia and in Chester, less so in northern Delaware and in West Jersey. 1950 New Yorker 1 1 Nov 60/2 Philadelphia PA, [After my mother's death] I took to baggin' school. 1957 DE Folkl. Bulletin .28 DE, Bagged school (played hookey). 1965-70 DARE (Qu.JJ6, To stay away from school without excuse) 10 Infs, PA, sNJ, CT, Bag school. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 284, 298, GA, TN, 2 infs, Bag school. in

.

.

.

.

1

2 Transf: to feign illness in order to avoid one's responsibilities.

1967

DARE (Qu.

baga n Usu

BB27) Inf PA36, Bagging something.

occas I'begaH Also [Abbr for rutabaga; cf Engl dial bagaroot, baggie a type of Swedish turnip (EDD)] chiefly MI, WI, See Map A rutabaga or Swedish turnip. 1854 MI State Ag. Soc. Trans, of 1853 597, In the month of November I'begi, 'be(i)g3|, less freq |'baegi|,

sp baggie, bagie, beggie

MN

half an acre was accurately set off by the chain,

and the bagas taken up. 1936 Lutes Country Kitchen 2 sMI (?as of c 890), Between Christmas and the first "greens" of spring our only vegetables were Hubbard squash, cabbage, "beggies," and such others as could be kept in the cold cellar or root house. 1950 WELS (Names or nicknames .for large yellow turnips) 15 Infs, WI, Beggies ['begiz]; 7 Infs, Baga(s) ['begaz]; 3 Infs, Baggies ['baegiz]. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 13) 19 Infs, chiefly MI, MN, WI, Beggies ['begiz]; Infs Mil 16, 19, Bagies ['begiz]; TN34, Bagas ['beigaz]; MI 108, Baggies ['baegiz]; FL30, ['beg*] [Infs father from WI]. 1966 DARE Tape MI28, ['begi]. 1

1

1

.

An

outdoor

toilet.

DARE (Qu.

1970

M21b)

Inf TX89,

The baggy,

the crapper.

bagie See baga

bag leaves n [So

called because the leaves can be inflated to form a sort of bag] NEng Cf bag plant, frog plant, pudding bag, witches' moneybags

An

orpine (here: Sedum telephium). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 340, SfedumJ Telephium Bag-leaves. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 214 CT, Bag-leaves. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 7, Bag leaves: Sedum purpureum. .

.

.

bagnet, bagnit See bagonet

bagodbajees exclam Also bagodbagee, bagodbejingoes [See quot] euphem Cf£>SNN7-9b 1970 DARE (QR, near p. 1) Inf MA78, "Bagodbejees." By-God-byJesus

.

.

goes."

.

.

.

Sometimes soft-pedalled to "Bagodbagee," "BagodbejinExclamations of impatience and exasperation. Old Yankee

"soft profanity."

bag

of

meal n For varr

see quots

NEast

A

person one does not know and cannot identify. 1904 DN 2.395 cNY, "I didn't know him from a bundle of brooms" Similarly used [is] bag of meal. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. ") Inf NJ 16, Bag of beans; "I wouldn't know him from 1126, PA 15, Bag of beets; VT10, Bag of potatoes. .

.

.

.

.

bag one's bowline v phr

To tie

a bowline knot incorrectly;

fig,

to perform or talk about a

1

task unskillfully or ignorantly.

ME

—

1975 Gould Lingo 2, Baggin the bowline Not unlike makin a granny: tying a knot the wrong way; botching the job The reef, or square knot, can be mis-tied into a granny, and the bowline can be bagged. Neither comes apart smoothly, if improperly made. Another explanation is that the bowline holding the weather edge of a sail must be rightly set or the sail will bag, making for sloppy sailing. Thus, a man who doesn't know what he's talking about, or tries to do something he can't, is baggin his bowlines. The expression can be a way of calling '

'

.

.

.

.

.

'

somebody a

liar.

bag one's head v phr 1914 ZW4.68 ME, nNH, Bag yer head. more modest.

"I cal'late

Retire; pull in one's horns; be

he better bag his head!"

[OED

bagonet n Also sp baggonet, bagnet, bagnit vulgar form"; cf EDD]

"obs. or

?obs

A bayonet. 1808 in 1810 Lambert Travels 2.436 SC, How can we charge bagonet without our guns? 1843 ( 1 9 16) Hall New Purchase 355 IN, The bagnit comrades. 1848 had silenced the rifle and avenged the fall of our Cooper Oak-Openings 1.161 nNY, You, sir, with preachin' and prayin', and I with gun and baggonet. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 195 IN, A old soldier what fit the Britishers, and lost his leg by one of the blamed critters a punchin' his bagonet through it. 1878 in 1929 Summers Annals 1 599 swVA, That bad man was riding behind him sticking a bagnet in him to make him keep up with their hosses. 1899 (1912) Bayonet. Green VA Folk-Speech, Bagonet .

bag fever n See

also udder fever

Milk fever, a disease in a cow's udder. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. K7, What sickness can a cow get in for example, if she's

NM3,

SC7, 40, TX6,

left

33,

unmilked too long?) Bag fever.

Infs

her udder

—

CA63, KY62, NE7,

.

bagged

adj

CfbagnBl

DARE (Qu. DD15)

.

bagonet plant See Spanish bayonet

Drunk. 1968

.

.

bagoong n

Inf NY76, Bagged.

A

baggie See baga

bagging (sack) n Sth

A

sack, as for feed or for packing cotton. 1830 in 1938 Gardiner Chron. Old Berkeley 303 KY, This town has 3 factorys turned by horse power (to wit) Cotton, Woolen & Bagging, Ropeworks. 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 438, Bagging, in the .

.

[Tagalog]

HI

condiment made from fermented

fish or shrimp. 1940 Bazore Hawaiian Foods 77 HI, But the most widely used fish product is a fermented salty fish paste called bagoong. It flavors pork; is added to vegetable dishes; is eaten raw. 1967 DARE (Qu. H50) Inf HI6, slightly rotten small fish. 1972 Carr Da Kine Talk Bagoong [baga'urj] 1 04 HI, Bagoong, a hot sauce or paste, is as powerful as its name suggests. To prepare it, shrimp or small fish are mixed with salt and allowed to .

.

—

"

bag plant

131

ferment for several days, after which they are pressed and the liquid drained off.

bag plant n [Seequots] NEng Cf bag

is

money-

leaves, witches'

bags

pudding-bag plant: Amer.

An

orpine (here:

Sedum Telephium

Sedum

telephium).

pudding-bag plant. Mass. Because of a children's custom of blowing up a leaf. 1898 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 11.227, Sedum Telephium .. bag plant, Holyoke Because the epidermis of the leaves is blown out into bags. Mass. 1899 (1909) Earle Child Life 389, From the live-for-ever, or orpine

1892

Jrl.

.

.

.

.

Folkl. 5.96,

we made

.

.

when blown

would burst with a delightful pop. The New England folk-names by which this plant is called, such as frog-plant, blow-leaf, pudding-bag-plant, show the [leaves]

.

.

.

a bladder which,

.

up,

bagpod n

A tall annual rather woody legume (Glottidium vesicaria) found Gulf States which has pinnately compound

leaves,

yellowish flowers, and bladdery elliptic pods. Also called bladderpod, castle bean, coffee bean 2, devilweed, mole bean 1, snake

bean

Comm.

.

.

Nomenclature Std. Plant Names Bagpod. 1960 Vines Trees 544,

.

.

SW

.

.

boys got up a

fine baile

1.324 seTX,

A woman

1967

dance.

DARE

— also kept

it

up till

1892

2 o'clock.

1894ZXY

in

of Matamoras attended the baile. and got up to (Qu. FF4) Inf CA4, Baile f'baije].

dance hall. 1880 Cimmaron News 15 Apr

2 Transf: a

1/7

(AmSp

17.65)

NM, Charles Fernan-

buckboard driver on the Santa Fe and Alamosa line, was killed in a near Chama. 1907 White AZ Nights 1 66, We built a baile and

baile

.

.

saloon houses out of adobe.

chango n [baile + Span chango monkey: see quot] 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms 97, Boys use the term to describe anyqueer or fantastic dancing motions or contortions as in "He went through a regular baile chango" or "He did a baile chango on his head." It may have been acquired from travelling entertainers who usually have as a main feature a monkey trained to do tricks and dance.

baile

.

.

.

.

.

.

1916

DN 4.340 seOH, Bailer

bag school See bag v

1

.

.

One who

asks questions.

bailey-wax See belly-wax bail net See bail

baily-ole

n2

n Cf haily-over n and

DS EE22,

1934 Hanley Disks seNY, Baley ole teams with a ball.

23a

['beli'oli]

was a game played by

baird See beard baird-splitter See beard-splitter

bagworm n

A larva of the bagworm moth (family Psychidae), which spins a

baire See bar n 3

silk case for its protection.

baister See baster

1862 U.S. Congress Congressional Globe 8 Jan 232/1 PA, On the avenue and in the parks you will find the evergreen trees being destroyed by the bag-worm. 1871 ( 1 882) Stowe Fireside Stories 68 MA, There was pig-weed, and pusley, and Canady thistles, cut-worms, and bag-worms, and canker-worms, to say nothin' of rattlesnakes. 1876 VT State Bd. Ag. Report 3.585, The Bagworm, Thyridopterix ephemerae formis, Haw., sometimes attacks the leaves of apple trees in other States. 1933 East Liberty Tribune (Pittsburgh PA) 28 July 6/5 (Hench Coll.), The bagworm, an injurious insect, has almost completely defo.

.

Evergreen trees in some sections of the East End This caterpillar or larva may be readily recognized by its curious habit of crawling about on the infested trees in a baglike case about three-quarters of an inch in length. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. R27, Kinds of caterpillars) 12 Infs, chiefly Midi, Bagworm; (Qu. P6) Inf TN26. Bagworms make a tough sack to live in; they hang on cedars and ornamental liated the

.

.

.

.

.

bait n

—

Food; a meal. [OED151Q ] See also baiting a Feed for a horse; pasturage. See also bait v 1, bait and board 1896 DN 1.412 nNY, Bait the grass eaten by a horse when he is 1

.

"baited."

b

1903

.

DN 2.349 neOH, Bait

.

.

.

Pasturage.

A meal, often a light one. [OED "Still dial."]

chiefly

S Midi,

West 1905

DN 3.69 nwAR, Bait ... A meal.

1944 Adams Western Words. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 157 Ozarks, A usually a meal, sometimes a light lunch or a snack. 1953 PADS

Bait

— Food, a meal.

bait

is

19.8s Appalachians, Bait Light lunch, "I'll get me a bait to eat before I meet you." 1958 AmSp 33.268 [Ranching terms], Bait ... A small feed or lunch; a meal. .

.

.

eWA

One serving of food. 1940 McCullers Lonely Hunter 248 GA, She helped herself to white meat and gravy and grits and a few raisins and mixed them up together on her plate. She ate three baits of them. 1967 DARE FW Addit SC Bait one serving of food. c

evergreens.

bah See bakkes

bahada See bajada

—

bah-ma See bamma

A

amount, an ample portion (of food), also dog bait 1926 Kephart Highlanders 367 wNC, "I et me a bait"

d

bahskit See basket

chiefly Sth,

large

mere snack, but jocosely

n.

it

may admit

literally

1944

a hearty meal.

means a

PADS 2.6

... A large amount (of food) "He ate himself a plumb bait Ibid2.53MO. 1950 PADS 14 .12SC, Bait All that one can eat. A bait of plums, watermelon, oysters, etc. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 6 Pacific N\V, Bait ... A good meal. To put away a bait means to

MS, Bait

2 See beard.

.

ofpie."

baidar(ka) See bidar

baig See beg

.

.

.

.

.

good meal. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bait ... All the food one can hold, a big meal or snack. "I sure got a bait at his house." 1964 Will Hist. Okeechobee xi FL, Bait ... an ample portion. 1966-69 DARE (Qu.LL4, Very large. helpingofpotatoes)lnk AL51,SC\9,TS12,23, A bait. 1967 DARE offish, Addit SC, People could serve a bait collards; TN, Bait [belt] a large helping of food. (Joking). "Give me a bait of them potatoes." Heard in restaurants. 1972 Atlanta Letters GA, "I have et a bait," ... the speaker has eaten a sufficiency. 1976 eat a

baignet See beignet n

1

See bale n

1

.

bail

A

S

Midi See

baid See bed

.

= Antony-over n.

bague See beg ba'gum See bargum

bail

.

.

outer thicker, the inner thin and papery-membranous).

1

SW

[Span]

designation for those ordinary assemblies where dancing and frolicking are carried on; baile (or ball) being generally applied to those of a higher grade. 1856 (1928) Jaeger Diary Fort Yuma 1 03 NM, In the evening the

Horticult.

275, Glottidium vesicarium [sic] Although not truly a woody plant it has superficial resemBagpod blance to the Rattlebox. 1970 Correll Plants 7X836, Bag-pod, bladderLegume body valves separating at maturity into 2 layers (the pod .

Also sp bayle

|'bai,le|

A

bailer n

1

1942 Amer. Joint

.

no more than a giant-sized version

aquaria.

dez, a

ME, Sempervivum tectorum, "Live Forever," "Bag-plant" (because the children blew up the leaves), and "Aaron's Rod.

chiefly in the

it, is

home

dance or ball, esp one at which Spanish or Mexican folk dances are performed. 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 170 NM, Fandangos is the usual

wide-spread prevalence of this custom.

2 =houseleek 1. 1929 Torreya 29.150

prefer to call

dip nets used in

little

baile n, also attrib 1

also

1

watermen

Virginia

of the

bait

/

n 2 Also bail net brail: see quot 1976.

FW

—

1969 DARE (Qu. PI 3, Other ways offishing) Inf RI15, Bail net. 1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 129 VA, The brail or "bail," as the .

.

.

.

.

.

a

1

bait

132

bait-stealer

/

Garber Mountain-ese sAppalachians, Bait sick after eatin' a bait uv cabbage fer supper .

A

.

Huge meal. "Clem

.

got

last night."

sufficient or excessive quantity or 1

had a

1938

them."

bait of

A

Ibid,

native

.

.

,

of the

in speaking

enormous amount of time that certain of her nephews spend at her farm, said, "We've had a bait of those boys." 1938 Rawlings Yearling nFL, You carry your Ma a good bait o' wood now. Ibid 99, I'd love some rale coffee. I've had a bait o' them wild coffee beans. 1966 - 70 DARE (Qu. AA12, If a man loses interest in a girl and stops seeing her, you'd say "He's got he ) Inf MS6, Got a bait of her; (Qu. LL8a, oftime. ") Inf AL5 A bait; (Qu. LL9a, As much as you need or more : "We've got of apples. ") Inf TN43, A bait. 1

.

1

1

—

earthworm. [OED »1799] chiefly Sth esp among Black speakers See also baitworm CfDSPS 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA, I saw a bait crawlin' in the dirt. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 89 MS [Black], Take some uv dem baits, de red uns de en rend' de grease out uv'm. Ibid 1 09, Fer de nex' two times dey go 1966-70 DARE (Qu. he 'uz gwi dig all de baits hisse'f. P5, The common worm used as bait) InfsFL48,GA47, NY236, SCI 1, 26, 34, 40, Bait(s). [4 of 7 Infs Black] 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 374 worm used for bait. Sth, Bait(s) bes',

fishin', .

.

.

.

4 In marble

=ante n. ND, Baits. The marbles which a player puts in the game as his ante. 1955 PADS 23.1 AL, TN, Bait ante. Ibid 20 TN, / got my bait Stated when the player has finished playing

AmSp

1934

play:

.

.

.

.

.

.

neKY,

marbles

The .

.

.

bait

.

.

of an

being

individual

in

a

baits.

.

Worksheets seMA, Bait /belt/ A piece of wood used for a fulcrum. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 6 Pacific NW, Bait ... A block used for leverage in prying something. 1975 Gould Lingo 3, Bait is also the Maine term for the fulcrum in leverage, meaning a block of wood or a rock placed under a crowbar or pole in lifting: "Give me a little more bait and we'll h'ist this still into place." .

.

ME

bait v

To

feed (an animal); to pause in a journey in order to feed animals. [OED 1375 -»]

1856 ( 1 862) Colt Went to KS 40 NY, A very large drove of cattle passed us this forenoon We come up to them now they have stopped to .

.

—

.

Diary 69 WI, We stoped for to bait after which we continued. 1887 (1895) Robinson Uncle Lisha 182 wVT, At noon they stopped to bait their teams and eat their lunch. 1891 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 4.317 cTN, The horse is brought around, baited and resaddled. 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 3 cPA Mts (as of cl900), To feed horses or oxen. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Bait 'em Bail mules. 1958 AmSp 33.268 eWA [Ranching terms], Bait ... To feed. 1959 VT Hist, ns 27. 124 VT, Bait the cows ... To let the cows graze at the roadside. Common. 1969 DARE (QR, near Qu. J 10) Inf MA58,

1859

( 1

93

1

)

Tuttle

CA

—

— to feed (animals).

2 To gather bait, spec small crabs, for fishing. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bait ... Soft crabs are used bait in fishing; the act of catching the crabs

To

entice, lure, provoke.

is

to bait.

"/ baited all the tide

came

NM, Our men

held the cattle as

1940 Richter Trees 254 OH, She was the one who had baited him to run off with his own bait woman's sister. 1966 DARETapc GA3, You can bait wild hogs 'em regular in one place and get 'em to coming there; NC24, [FW:] "I imagine you could bring 'em in a little closer to where you wanted to go get 'em if you put some [food] out for 'em." [Inf:] "Well, that's strictly against the law— to bait 'em." 1967-68 DARE (QR, near Qu. P39) Inf CA32, Boys came in to Luis to get some overripe fruit to use as bait for wild pig hunting they wanted to go "bait some hogs in"; (Qu. Y5, "Johnny wouldn't have tried that if the other boys hadn't ") Inf NJ 1 8, NE6, Baited him (on). 1970 DARE FW Addit VA47, "They'll [=nesting ducks] bait sneak along, get you after 'em, get you away from the nest." out, in order to bait the next

bunch.

.

.

.

.

.

is still

NH

—

.

.

MA

Boarding and baiting stables, where gentlemen who drove in from the suburbs behind fast trotters left their rigs during the day. bait

can n

[bait

nib:

cfEDD bait-bag, OED bait-poke in similar

sense]

Esp among

loggers: a lunch bucket. 1926 AmSp 5.398 Ozarks, Bait can ... A dinner pail or lunch basket. 1956 AmSp 31.149 nwCA [Logger lingo], Bait can. Lunch pail. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 6 Pacific NW. 1968 Adams Western Words. .

.

widow adj phr Cf DS VV37, 38 Spruced up; dressed to catch the attention of widows or other

baited for

women. 1960 Williams Walk Egypt 20 GA, baited for widow, blue

tie

and yellow

He come by my house

last night,

shirt.

Any

C Atl, N

Atl

used as bait. 1820 Rafinesque Ohio R. Fishes 51 Allegheny Mts, Rutillus compressus ... A small fish from two to four inches long, called Fall-fish 1931-33 LANE Worksheets csCT, Baitfish Bait-fish, Minny, &c. minnow, same as redfin. 1939 LANE Map 234 (Minnow), The inclu1965-70 sive terms baitfish, fish bait, and live bait are widely used. DARE (Qu. P7, Small fish used as bait) 20 Infs, chiefly Atl, esp N Atl, C small

fish

—

Atl, Baitfish.

bait

hook See

bait iron n

baiting vbl n, also attrib [bait v 1] chiefly old-fash See also bait n 1, bait and board

NEng somewhat

A meal, or feed for an animal, esp as given on a journey or during a respite from work. 1825 Neal Brother Jonathan 2.95 CT, When we come nigh the taverns; or baitin' places, or post offices. 1843 Knickerbocker 22.430 NH, The country tavern, whose long shed and sanded hall give surety to the stranger and his beast of a comfortable noontide baiting. 1868 Brackett Farm Talk 99 ME, "Got your fodder all fed out?" "Nearly. There's a hundred or two more of fodder corn, which I keep for baitings." 1941 LANE Map 314 (A bite [between meals]) 9 infs, c,nNEng, Baiting. [Of these] Baiting is described as older though still in use by [6 infs]. 1968 DARE FW horse

.

.

.

Addit,

[From

Baiting

a] curator,

pasture

— pasture

for

refreshing

Shaker museum. Old-fash.

Tape MA58, Then you went out there an' mowed bring out the baitin': sandwich, cookies, fruit.

~

needle,

till

9,

~ spear

10

1969 .

.

a

DARE

then you'd

ME

In lobstering: a needle-like tool used to insert small fish as lures in lobster traps; to prod with such a tool. Lingo 3, Bait Iron ... It is not unlike a chefs larding 1975 Gould needle; a steel rod with a sharpened point and an eye, and a wooden handle. The imagery has come ashore: "He jumped's though somebody bait-ironed'him!" 1978 Merriam Illustr. Lobsteringi ME, Bait iron A device for threading the bait bag, or whole bait, onto the bait string. It consists of a handle, often a piece of an old oar, and a long metal spike which has a hole near the end. The fisherman sticks the iron through the bait bag, then threads the bait string through the hole in the iron, and pulls the bait string through the bag. Also called bait hook, bait needle,

.

,

—

.

—

.

DN 2.349, Baiting

ME

See also bay v

1903 (1965) Adams Log Cowboy 19 they

Also boarding and baiting

The more common use for the single meal preserved in the sign 'boarding and baiting' of a public stable. 1954 Forbes Rainbow 88 CT, (as of c 1 850), As for where we put up for the night, it was like this anybody who employed a craftsman by custom gave him meals, lodging, bait and board for his horse if he had one. 1962 Morison One Boy's Boston 20 (as of 1890s), 1903

of a horse

bait iron n, v Also bait hook, for

and caught two dozen crabs." 3

1]

baitfish n chiefly Atl, esp

Rec. 9.6

played for

5 A fulcrum. Nth, esp NEng 1889 (1971) Farmer Americanisms 33, In New England a bait is the means by which a leverage is obtained; a fulcrum. 1931-33 LANE

Bait

n

[bait

for a horse.

.

number with which he began. 1963 KYFolkl.

bait.

and board n Food and shelter

bait

.

with the same

1

trying to

9.75

1

game

When

a school-child makes a special effort to of getting a better grade: "He's again") Inf IL29, Bait her on. JJ3a,

.

,

An

.

DARE (Qu.

"get in good." with the teacher in hopes

.

.

3

curry favor.

1968

amount. Sth, S Midi 1851 in 956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 258 wNC, Cousin Sophia has been taking a bait of kine pox. 1935 Hench Coll. cVA, A local woman reported of someone who had grown weary of her in-laws, "She's finally 2

To

4

.

—

bait spear.

bait-stealer n 1

=cunner n

1

1.

1884 Goode Fisheries U.S. 1.273 N Atl, At Salem they are called "Nippers," and occasionally here and elsewhere "Bait-stealers." 2 See quot.

—A bait tree

133

DARE

(Qu. P3, Freshwater fish that are not good to eat) Inf IL29, 1968 look like a real small catfish, yellowish color. Mollies or bait-stealers

—

1941 FWP Guide SC 293, Descendants of the Scotch-Irish and Huguenot settlers are still inveterate hunters and anglers, prizing catalpas as "bait trees" for their burden of caterpillars. 1965 McDavid Coll. sSC,

Sth (See map in Kurath Word Geog. See also bait n 3 fig 139) The common worm used for bait; an earthworm. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 74, Fish bait and bait worm occupy smaller areas within the extensive fishworm and fishing worm areas of the south-central Pennsylvania and adjoinMidland and South, namely, the western piedmont of North Carolina ing parts of Maryland and 1958 PADS 29.7 cnTN, Bait and adjoining parts of Virginia. Worm worm Earthworm. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Baitworm .

.

used in

.

.

.

.

heard occasionally. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. P5) 19 Infs, Baitworm; (Qu. P6) Inf PA240, Baitworm. {7 of 20 1977-78 Foster Lexical Variation 66 NJ, Bait worm 2

fishing;

chiefly Midi, Sth,

.

.

[responses].

bajada n

Iba'hadal Also baja, pronc-sp

bahada [Span]

SW

is

bajada, descent. This

is

quite explicitly applied to the

abrupt break-off of a lava flow Special types of plant life find their footing there which can best be described as bahada inhabiting. 1942 Kearney Flowering Plants 1 6 AZ, The bajadas are smooth, with gravelly surface, and are dominated by nearly pure stands of Colegyne ramosissima. 1968 Adams Western Words, Baja A descent, usually severe, .

.

.

—

Raton

Pass.

bake n Cf clambake 1

[as] flour.

adj Also

ppl

A

meal or food usu prepared by baking, chiefly NEng 1939 Wolcott Yankee Cook Book 26 RI, After the hot clams come more

—

Adams Old-Time Cowhand

hoss they're on, and cause sores,

is

—

1

doors].

2

A

social gathering at

served.

?chiefly

N

which a meal, esp of baked food,

is

Atl

of the Times 6 June 174/3 NY (DA), In search of that five which he was bound to pull in every year, for the grand 'bake' at the village hotel. 1948 Natl. Geog. Mag. 94. 170/2, If Rhode Island had never produced anything but a bake like that it would have been enough. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. FF1) Inf NY83, Cake sale, pizza bakes; (Qu. FF16) Inf PA7, Bakes— give food to raise money; CT19,

1846

pound

Spirit

pickerel

.

.

Shad bake.

bake v West Cf baked See quot 1944. 1944 Adams Western Words, Bake

.

1

.

13

saddle.

ill-fitting

SW, Some

and the hoss

saddles don't

fit

the

"baked."

is

[Prob from the flavor

A name given in Labrador to the

[1889 Century Diet. Baked-apple ...

Rubus Chamaemorus, or cloudberry.] 1900 Lyons Baked-apple-berry. Plant Names 325, R. Chamaemorus 1947 Bowles- Towle New Engl. Cooking 159, Blueberries, huckleberries, raspberries, and the less known amber-colored baked-apple berries and salmon berries were all used for pies. 1950 Gray-Fernald Manual of dried fruit of the

.

.

.

Botany 819, Baked-apple-berry, Baked-apple.

Rubus chamaemorus

...

is

1981 Tabbert Alaskan

also said to be called frequently

baked-apples-and-pears n [Perh from the flavor] =bunchberry 1. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 256, Cornus Canadensis. Bakedapples-and-pears.

bakehead n Cf bake a cake

Among

railroad workers: a locomotive fireman. 1929 Bookman 69.525, The fireman has many names, some of which will not bear repeating. He is a Clinker-boy or a Bakehead. 1943 AmSp 18. 1 62. 1947 Beebe Mixed Train 353. 1958 McCulloch Woods .

.

—

Words 6 Pacific NW, Bakehead A railroad fireman "After a man has fired so long he's baked all his brains out, they promote him to engineer." 1962 AmSp 37.131 nCA, Bakehead A fireman on a steam locomotive. .

.

.

.

.

.

bake-oven n [Du bakoven; cf Pa-Ger back offe, bock 1 An oven used for baking, somewhat old-fash

qffe]

1859 ( 1 968) Banletl Americanisms, Bake-Oven. This term is often used West for the simple word oven in a bakery. It is also applied to the iron bake-pan. 1940 Yoder Rosanna 1 38 cePA, Large pieces of homemade bread baked in a bake oven. 1967 DARE Tape PA 14, We had what they called a bake-oven big enough for eight loaves of bread and in the

.

2

A

.

Dutch oven, a heavy covered pot used esp fire, somewhat old-fash

for baking over

an open

1809 in 1924 Austin Papers 1.164 LA, Also of Kitchen Utensils one two Iron Pots one Bake Oven. 1883 Harper's Mag. 66.504/2 AZ, A few old men trudge about their bake-ovens. 1891 ( 905) Ryan Told in Hills 100 MT, Without looking up from the eggs she was scrambling in the bake-oven of a few minutes before. 1902 (1969) Sears Catalogue can be set in center of wood fire 582/2, Bake oven, deep pattern without injury to contents; cover fits down snug, so that nothing can get 1

.

.

.

inside.

3 also

attrib:

An

outdoor oven, or a farm building used princi-

pally for baking.

1777 in 1901 Documents Revol. Hist. NJ 1.335, A Good two story Brick-House, [with] bake-oven, a cedar log bam, and stables. 1848 Bryant What I Saw in Cal. 464 (DAE), The furnaces are of the simplest construction exacdy like a common bake-oven. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. M22, What other kinds of buildings would there be on farms around here 7) Inf PA 141, Woodshed, bake-oven, wagonshed old-fashioned; (Qu. HI 8, Special kinds of bread) Inf MI93, Bake-oven bread made with pastry flour in an outside brick oven. .

.

—

—

To ride in such a way as to 1971 Jennings Cowboys 44 West, Bake just one of them horses, and you'll be sorry you ever laid eyes on me. I'm like a horse. I ain't no good when I get heated up. overheat a horse.

.

.

.

Among loggers:

.

[Cf DA baker n 2 tent constructed to capture heat from a campfire] 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo 4 NEng, Gt Lakes, Bake oven cruiser's tent with one sloping side and two ends.

4

see quot.

,

—

bake a cake v phr Cf bakehead

Among

railroad workers: to build up steam in a locomotive. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 6 Pacific NW, Bake a cake To get a good fire going in a locie or donkey engine. 1977 Adams Lang.

—

Railroader.

Cf

nigger-branded

=cloudberry.

table

since the food

v,

baked-apple berry n Also baked-apple and the wrinkled skin; DCan 1775 —»]

most delicious of meals has always been called a "bake," not baked but steamed. Ibid 2 4, Kitchen bake Follow the same directions as for the barrel bake, but do the cooking in a large kettle on the kitchen stove [rather than in the metal barrel out-

.

strange that this

by an

horse: bruised or scraped

1961

twelve to fifteen pies.

.

beefsteak

called

bake v

and all the other good things that were in the bake. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. H48) Inf MA5, Bake— a bake of meat, a bake of roast; NC52, Potato bake; (Qu. H50) Inf KS20, Sweet-sour bean bake. 1969 D^iiTapeRIS, A layer of wood and a layer of stone enough to make a bake. 1979 Flagg Cape Cod Cooking 213 eMA, It is rather hot clams

.

baked-apple berry.

road, or trail; also, an alluvial fan. 1866 Wkly. N. Mex. 1 7 Nov 2/3 (DA), The road from here to Algodones by way of the Bajada is being worked. 1919 Chase CA Desert 259 sCA, I came up with him just as we emerged upon the sloping bajada, which is the feature of almost every desert canon mouth. 1932 Bentley Spanish Terms 97, Bajada ... A downgrade in the road or trail; a dugway; a sharp descent. The term is commonly used in New Mexico, Arizona and parts of Texas and California. 1933 AmSp 8.3.8 SW, A word which has been in use as a place name, but has only recently become generally descriptive

— —

—

Engl. 277,

A steep descent,

as at

baked

.

.

Infs Black]

.

baking things,

chiefly Midi,

.

DARE

where (Qu. D8, The small room next to the kitchen and sometimes food are kept) Inf NY34, Pantry no longer to store found in houses. Use [a] "bake closet" of Dutch origin 1967

Of a

Bait tree.

baitworm n

.

bake closet n dishes

n Also called fish-bait tree =catalpa Bl.

bait tree

baker

/

baker n

1

A covered metal container used for baking; a Dutch oven. 1841 Lowell Offering 1.227 MA, A peep into the baker told that the potatoes were cooked. 1897 Outing 29.489/1 MT, The cooking uten1

1

baker

bakkie

/

134

one patented baker and one large 1952 Callahan Smoky Mt. 87 NC, When mealtime approached, the housewife would rake out on the hearth a glowing mass of embers, and place over them the covered cast-iron oven known as a "baker." 1956 Hall Coll. eTN, "The witch doctor told the folks to put the baker lid in the fire." Baker lid The lid of a Dutch oven, which is placed in the coals of the fire place. 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 59 wNC, eTN, Baker a cast iron pan with three legs and a cover set in the coals of the fireplace. 1967 DARE FW Addit TN 1 6, Corn dodgers used to be cooked in "baker and led [led]" "led" means "lid." sils,

consisting of three dripping pans,

coffee-pot.

.

.

.

A

.

PADS

1958

eTN, Baker

.

pan or

griddle; a shallow frying

Cf DS Fl

skillet.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

FW

—

—

.

responses[:] baker,

.

.

Any [EDD 1859—]

3 also bakie:

Dutch oven, iron

.

.

.

skillet.

item of food which

suitable for baking.

is

.

.

this year.

4 The rear room of an addition to a home.

Cf bake-oven

3, ell

LANE Map 352 ceME, Lean-to or [beika], the rear part of the ell.

baker n 2 See tobacco

.

bakery;

Baked goods. 1903

DN 2.349 neOH, Bake-stuff.

.

The

.

baker's product in general,

tbake up (someone) v phr

To

prepare baked goods for (a number of people). 1939 Coffin Capt. Abby 19 (as of 1859-70), These hamlets had strawberry beds cucumber frames, a Dutch oven, big enough to bake up a whole family for a week. .

.

bake wagon See bakery

1

bakie See baker n 3 1

bakin See bacon

baking bread vbl n

maneuver in the game of jump rope: see quot 1909. 1888 Amer. Anthropologist 266 DC, Baking Bread requires a rope with two to turn it. The performer holds in one hand a stone (representing a loaf of bread. I suppose) while she jumps three times. 1909 (1923) Bancroft Games 120, "Baking Bread." A player runs in with a stone in his hand, and while jumping places it on the ground, straightens up, picks up the stone again, and runs out. baking powders n chiefly sAppalachians, Ozarks Cf powders Baking powder. 1905 DN 3.69 nwAR, Baking powders "We don't make our biscuits with cream of tartar; we use Price's baking-powders." 1924 Raine Land .

flying See flying baker

.

.

of Saddle-Bags 165 eKY, [Caption:] When she's "clean out o' bakin' ," the "woman" takes her baby and a basket of powders eggs and rides .

store five miles away to barter for groceries and "fixin's." 1926 Kephart Highlanders 371 sAppalachians, Tomato, cabbage, molasses and baking powder are always used as plural nouns "How many bakin'-powders has you got?" 1928 Ruppenthal Coll. KS. 1 967 - 68 DARE (Qu. H 1 6, What do people use to raise the bread before it's baked?) Infs AR47, TN27, Baking powders.

to the

baker bread See baker's bread baker

.

bake-stuff n

.

n'l 1941

home?"; Madison WI [Sign in coffee shop], Fresh, fresh, fresh [Sign in supermarket], Order your Christmas bakery now.

A

.

.

.

.

1948 Sun (Baltimore MD) 5 Jan 10/2 (Hench Coll.), The term "fowl" is not always understood by housewives ... In some retail markets fowls are called "bakers." 1967 DARE (Qu. 19) Inf CA32, Bakers— good baking ones. "Do you have any bakers?" 1968 ID State Jrl. (Pocatello) 20 Feb C26/5, The potato inside the strip retains the mealy texture and white color of Idaho bakers. 1976 Garber A/owtt/a/Az-eje sAppalachians, Bakie Baking squash We raised ten bushels uv bakies in our garden

.

ME

Informants describe it as "a small rimless skillet," "made of iron used for baking biscuit and corn bread; it is too shallow for frying." 1965-70 DARE Addit OK 13, Baker shallow "frying pan" with long handle used for quick frying; KY85, Baker a rectangular griddle for hoecakes or flitters. 1970 Tarpley Blinky 94 neTX, Heavy iron pan used for frying other 29.7

1979-81 DARE File Cleveland OH (as of c 940), I "would you pick up some bakery on your way 1

.

.

.

2

brown'n'serve rolls. heard it fairly often

little

.

baker's bread n Also baker bread, bakers ~ [OEDS 1813—*] throughout US, but esp Nth, N Midi, West old-fash See Map '

.

.

Section

Bread baked by a baker (as opposed to home-baked bread). 1802 in 1929 Weems Mason Locke Weems 2.225 NJ, Some of those sixpenny loaves of Baker's bread and feel to the 1895 U.S. Dept. Ag. Yearbook for 1894 41, Very few accurate weighings and analyses of bakers' bread have been made in this country. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Baker's bread Bread in loaves bought from a bakery. Rarely heard now: it is just bread or a loaf of bread. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H 1 3, Bread that is not made at home) 283 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, West, Baker's bread; 22 Infs, chiefly Inland Nth, Baker bread. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 70% were old; of those giving these responses, 93% were old.] 1983 DARE File csWI (as of 1930s), Baker's bread was what we called it; kids did too. [books]

.

.

look

full as light

.

.

like

and spungy.

.

baker-sheet n =dripping pan.

.

.

ME

DN 3.240 eME, Baker sheet ... A 1926 ZW 5.385 ME, Baker-sheet

shallow tin pan for baking Dripping pan. "Biscuits are baked in a baker-sheet." Common. 1926 AmSp 2.79, She baked her biscuits in a dripping-pan, while my mother in Maine still uses a "baker-sheet," the same utensil called by a different name. 1934 Hanley Disks swME, What they called the baker sheet.

1907

cake.

.

.

.

2

DN

1

.4

2

.

.

.

bakery n 1 also bake wagon: See quot. 1896

.

cNY, Bakery

.

.

.

obs bake wagon: a

Baked goods, esp sweet baked goods,

travelling baker's cart.

chiefly

Ger settlement

areas 1949 WELSSuppl. csWI, Bakery for the baked goods themselves. At the bakery you buy bakery. 1967 DARE FW Addit Cleveland OH, Bakery one or several of various kinds of sweet baked goods. "I went to the doughnut shop and got some bakery." Some bakery could mean one cream puff or a dozen sweet rolls other than doughnuts. 1975 Morris Usage 62, The use of the word bakery to refer to baked goods is fairly

—

—

widely heard in Dialect and folk speech, particularly among people of descent. 1978 Milwaukee Sentinel (WI) 22 Dec sec 3 1/3, Fresh bakery is so rare in our house that my men get giddy over

German

bakkels n [Norw bakkels(e) cookie]

Cf fattigmanns bakkels 1950 WELS (Other foods made with dough and cooked in deep fat) 1 Inf, cWI, Crullers, bakkels (Norwegian); (Foreign foods) 1 Inf, cWI, Bakkels Scandinavian pastry.

—

bakkes adj,exclam

I'bakas, bsekasl

akkes, akkie, akkes bakkes

[Du]

Also bakkie, baks, bax, bah; in Dutch communities See

also backsie

—

Characterized by foulness or filth; repulsive. Dirty! Filthy! often used as a warning to children. 1982 DARE File, My students confirm that bakkes f'bakas], bah [bax], and akkes ['akas] are all used to describe filth. The forms akkie and bakkie are also very common, as is the combination akkes bakkes. The students who know and use these words are from Dutch backgrounds in Lynden, WA; Bellflower, CA; Denver, CO; Sioux Co., IA; Pella, IA; Grand Rapids. MI; Whitinsville, MA; and Paterson, NJ. Ibid seWI, Bakkes ['baekas] is used as an adjective or as an expression of disgust or revulsion. I use bakkie in the same way so do my kids. Not too long ago. Joel came into the house and said, "I just stepped in something bakkie." A shorter form, baks or bax ([bax] or [baks]), is used only as an exclamation. My German grandfather always used it, but I assumed that it was a form of our Dutch word. He'd say "Baks!" to warn a child away from something the kid was messing in, but he'd also use it to warn his dog. Ibid swMI, I recently caught myself warning my daughter that something was "bakkie" ['bakr]. Since then I've talked to a lot of Dutch people back in Holland and Grand Rapids about it; most of them know "bakkie" as an adjective and "bakkes" as an exclamation for something unpleasantly dirty or repulsive. The words are used most often in referring to food or excrement, and usually they're spoken to children.

—

Ibid [see bakkie].

bakkie n See also bakkes 1982 DARE File swMI, When the first vowel in bakkie is long [ba:kr], the word is specifically a noun meaning excrement: "I want to take a bakkie." When the vowel is shorter [bakr], the word is an adjective. Then it doesn't necessarily refer to biological elimination but can refer to anything

filthy

or distasteful, including spoiled soup or rancid butter.

.

.

bakont

135

bakont ppl

bekanni known]

adj Pronc-sp [Ger

1

.

Blue Goose

56,

1

nut Check-list 18

Known,

acquainted. 1939 Aurand Quaint Idioms

1

Come

sePA,

1

here once

.

.

and make

yourself bakont.

.

Other Names Blue goose

bald brant.

.

bald coot n 1 ^obs 1 also pronc-sp ball coot: =coot n Some 53 S Atl, Black Flusterers 1 709 ( 967) Lawson New Voyage al782 (1788) Jefferson Notes VA 11, call these the great bald Coot. Black head. BallBesides these [birds], we have The Royston crow coot. Sprigtail. 1859 Willis Convalescent 387 VA, He said there were '

baks See bakkes

.

1

1

bakun See bacon

.

.

bal' See bald n

naming,

thirty [kinds],

balahack See ballyhack

1932 Ben-

Bald-headed Brant.

.

MO,

baldface

/

among

.

.

.

.

others, the blue-wing.

.

the ball-coot

.

[etc.]'.

NEng Cf double stone wall,

balanced wall n Also balance wall

2 =Florida gallinule.

face wall

A

stone wall or fence. those 1931-33 LANE Worksheets ceMA, Balanced ['baelanst] wall stones were balanced on each other. 1934 Hanky Disks seCT, The any balance wall, you can use anything. You don't have to have 1966-69 DARE (Qu. L60, A fence made of particular shape stone. stone or rock without mortar) Inf RI12, Stone wall or balanced wall; NH3, Balanced wall. .

.

.

.

[AmSpan

balao n Also sp ballaho, ballyhoo

.

balaju]

.

.

—

.

ballyhoo, eels, mackerel,

balcony n Usu

.

and similar

.

I'baelkanil; in

.

fish.

Cf Prone

Sth, freq |baekani|

Intro

Form.

when

it is

15.259 Sth, In the South the / Thus preceded by any vowel .

B

Sense.

A

porch constructed

at the

.

.

ground

is .

level

.

[baeakani].

or treeless

mountain

esp

sAppalachians,

top.

Messenger 4.23 1/2 AL, At length we came to the top of the near Bald; from this we had an extensive and delightful prospect After a short pause, we went on to the far Bald, which we found a good deal higher than the near. 1907 Wright Shepherd 18 Ozarks, Reckon you know 'bout Colonel Dewey, him the Bal' up thar's named fer? 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, eTN, We took our dogs, took out to the top, and down in under the bald we went. 1939 FWP Guide 77v 514, Treeless areas or "balds" called slicks by the natives because of their deceptive appearance of smoothness are found on some of the ridge no trees had tops. 1960 Williams Walk Egypt 7 nGA, On Ellie Bald grown since time began Folks said it was not the only bald in the mountains, that there were half a dozen more, some a quarter of an acre wide, one a thousand acres. 1961 Douglas My Wilderness 164 NC, Some of the ridges in the Smokies, particularly in the western part, have no trees. They are the "balds" found on or near summits. Some slopes that are covered with rhododendron, laurel, blueberry, and minniebush (all of the heath family) are called "heath balds" by botanists. S. Lit.

.

.

.

.

.

r

.

.

—

—

.

.

.

Names

At Crisfield, of Birds 21, Anas americana Chesapeake), and Wilmington. N.C., Bald-crown. Other Names Bald1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.120, Baldpate 1932 Bennitt Check-list 18 MO, Baldpate .. bald crown. crown. 1968-70 DARE(Qu. Q5, Kinds of wild ducks) Inf MD36, Baldcrown

Md.

.

name

real

.

.

.

(east shore of

is

baldpate;

.

.

MD45, VA52, Baldcrown

— (same

.

.

—

as) baldpate.

bald cypress n

A

timber tree of the genus Taxodium, esp T. distichum, a deciduous conifer which in wet areas produces woody projections or "knees" from the roots: found throughout the South and as far north as southern Illinois. Also called cypress 2a, red cypress, sabino, swamp cedar, swamp cypress, white cypress, yellow cypress See also pond cypress 1709 (1967) Lawson New Voyage 103 S Atl, Cypress is not an Evergreen with us, and is therefore call'd the bald Cypress. 1832 Browne Sylva 143, It is called in the ancient Southern States Cypress, and 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 110, On sometimes Bald Cypress. .

.

banks of both of these

.

rivers a fine

timber growth of bald cypress 1967 - 70 DARE (Qq.

MO 12, MA78. Bald cypress; CT4. Bald cypress— found

common on

of a home.

Vernac-

1.

1888 Trumbull

T15, 16) Infs rarely, imported.

bald n Pronc-sp bal' chiefly S Midi, Ozarks See also baldhead 2, slick 1838

=baldpate

balcony

.

.

See baldhead n 3

frequentlv forms brakes of considerable extent.

.

.

.

.

frequently lost before -k

1860 Holmes Professor 197 NEng, On such a balcony or "stoop," one evening, I walked with Iris. 1950 PADS 14. 12 SC, Balcony ... A small side porch with an iron railing, usually ornate. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Balcony. Porch. Rare.

A bare

.

baldcrown n

the

AmSp

1940

cow

bald

.

.

3.1.22

A

.

.

Either of two halfbeaks (Hemiramphus balao or Hemiramphus brasiliensis) found in waters off the Florida coast. 1867 De Voe Market Asst. 199, There are likewise to be caught in the winter season, fish, by towing over this bank, if a person has suitable bait, such as the ballaho, which they have generally in the West Indies. 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 242, The balaos (genus HemiramThere are 2 species in our waters. phus) have the body compressed 1922 Outing 79.253/1, For sail and other large fish they use a sardine1949 Esquire Mar 81, sized, sword-nosed minnow called a ballyhoo. Bait mullet, squid, balao. 1975 Evanoff Catch More Fish 140, Most fish such as mullet, balao or offshore trolling is done with various .

1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 1 3.44, Florida Gallinule Bald coot (S.C.). Names In local use

ular

1969

DARE FW

Addit eNC, Bald cypress— plant

Hatteras Island.

bald eagle n

A large North American which has dark juvenile plumAlso age, but develops a white head and tail with maturity. called black eagle 2, brown eagle, Washington eagle 1688 in 1694 Royal Soc. London Philos. Trans, for 1693 17.989 VA, The Second is the Bald Eagle, for the Body and part of the Neck being of a dark brown, the upper part of the Neck and Head is covered with a white sort of Down, whereby it looks very bald, whence it is so named. 1705 Beverley Hist. VA 2.34, In the Air you see a Fishing-Hawk flying away 1

also bald-headed eagle, baldhead:

eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

with a Fish, and a Bald-Eagle pursuing, to take it from him. 1836 (1935) are Holley Texas 100, The bald-headed eagle, and the Mexican eagle among the birds of prey, and are very common. 1850 Garrard Wah-to.

yah 175 NM, The magnificent "bald head" unfolded his wings slowly. 1878 Beadle Western Wilds 483 CO, Small is the pleasure one can take in the sweep of the bald eagle, where the next occupation of that eagle mav be in picking the meat from his bones. 1965-70 DARE (Qq. Q4. 10, "l3) Infs AK1. CA137, FL13, GA28, 35, NJ39, OK25, SC4, VA47. Bald eagle; (Qu. Q4) Inf VVI43. Bald-headed eagle. .

2

A

.

kind of caterpillar.

1967 DARE (Qu. R27, What kinds of caterpillars or similar worms do you have around here 7) Inf PA44. Bald eagle.

baldface n also bald-faced widgeon and pronc-sp ballface: =baldpate 1 1709 (1967) Lawson New Voyage 155 S Atl, The bald, or white Faces Shelare a good Fowl. They cannot dive. Ibid 141, Water fowl are drakes. Bald Faces, [etc.]. 1768 ( 1 925) Washington Diaries 1 .253 VA, Went a ducking between breakfast and dinner and killd 2 Mallards and 5 bald faces. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 20, Anas americana ... At Washington, D.C.. Alexandria, Va., and Morehead, N.C., Bald-face (not recognized in latter locality by any other name) ... At St. Augustine, Fla., Bald-faced widgeon. 1889 Century Diet. 6921/1, American widgeon Also called locally bald-faced widgeon. 1917 (1923) Birds 1

bald adv [Ger bald almost, nearly] 1914 DN 4. 103 KS, Bald About. "It's bald half mile up .

.

there."

.

bald brant n Also bald-headed brant

=blue goose n 1 1874 Long Wild-Fowl 243

(DA),

The younger

[blue geese]

.

.

are fur-

ther characteristically distinguished as bald-brant or white-heads.

Trumbull Names of Birds lows:

.

.

Names

1

888

of Chen carulescens, as folBald-headed Brant or Bald Brant. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 9,

.

.

.

.

.

.

baldface

/

bald-headed gannet

Amer. 1.120, Baldpate FL21,Ballface.

.

Other Names

.

136

.

.

.

1925 Bailey Birds

Ballface.

2 A horse having a white face or a conspicuous white mark on often used as a nickname. Cf bald-faced, baldy n the face 1785 ( 1 925) Washington Diaries 2.436 VA, Completed the Acct. of my which stands thus Black bald face. 1894 Outing 24.216/2 Stock CT, I jest had time to hitch old Bald Face into the cart and git here. 1927 Ruppenthal Coll. KS. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. K39, Names .for

—

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

—

bald-faced whisk(e)y See baldface n 3

bald-faced widgeon See baldface

—

baldface hornet See bald-faced hornet

baldhead n

in front. 1

3 also bald-faced whisk(e)y, pronc-spp ball-face, ball-faced [W3 "obs. slang"] chiefly Sth, whiskey: Unaged whiskey.

Midi 1836 Wkly. Advertiser (Russellville. Ky.) 21 Jan 1/5 (DA), He has refused to keep anything to drink but ball-[sic] faced whiskey. 1845 Hooper Advent. Simon Suggs 90 AL, The Captain and "Lewtenant Snipes" sat down, with a bottle of bald-face between them. 1851 (1969) Burke Polly Peablossom 60 IN, If you've got any more of that baldface. pour it out! Ibid 50 MS, Mat Cain drunk up my last bottle of "ball-face." 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 225 Ozarks, Bald 1

.

.

.

.

Raw

.

—

baldface

.

.

NC

—

4 See baldhead

3.

1

I

.

.

.

baldfaced nag was a fast walker." 1944 Adams Western Words, Bald[is] also applied to a horse when the white on its head includes faced one or both eyes. Sometimes white-faced cattle are called baldfaced. 1967 DARE (Qu. K39) Inf KS1, Bald-faced horse. .

2 Transf: see quot. 1969 DARE (Qu. X29, Joking or uncomplimentary words for a person 's

MA 15, Bald-faced.

bald-faced hornet n Also baldface hornet, bald hornet A paper wasp (Vespula maculata) which is largely black with yellowish-white markings. Also called white-assed hornet, white-faced hornet 1796 (1905) Latrobe Jrl. ofLatrobe 104 VA, The bald-face hornet. This dangerous fly is proverbially fierce. 1859 Taliaferro Fisher's R. 194 nwNC (as of 1 820s), It was as if you had assaulted a ball-hornet's nest. 1861 IL Dept. Ag. Trans, for 7559-604.341, The nest of our American bald-faced hornet is occasionally suspended in a house to kill off the house-flies. 1899 ( 1 9 1 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, Baldface hornet ... A hornet so called because it has a whitish head. 1953 [see baldface n 3]. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. R21) Inf MI2, Bald-faced hornet— the biggest hornet, has a white face; MI65, Bald-faced hornet the paper nests; he is striped brown and white; MI 1

CA197, Bald hornet; KY5, Bald hornet men, white face. hornet;

baldface dish n Cf bald-faced

A white china plate. 1968 china

— the ones that make 1

6,

WI43, Bald-faced

— black with gray abdo-

.

plateau,

.

1936 Oriole

'Baldhead'.

.

SW

mesa or mountain.

Mag. 43.205 AZ, The purple sage found in the 1941 FWP Guide UT 509. The tops of plateaus, mesas, and mountains in the area are rounded natives call them whalebacks and baldheads. 1923

Natl. Geog.

.

crevices of these "baldheads."

.

—

3 also bald cow, baldface, bald-headed cow: A naturally hornless cow. [Cf EDD bald 5 in similar sense] chiefly VA, NC 1 969 - 70 DARE (Qu. K 2, A cow that has never had horns) Infs NC68, OK56. VA77, Baldhead; VA40, 75. Bald-headed; NC63, Bald; MS81, 1

Bal'head or bal'face.

4 See bald eagle

1.

adj

pronc-sp ball-headed: Foolish. 1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 277 Sth, To be de ball-headest creetur

be the biggest

.

.

to

fool.

2 also as exclam, in var mild oaths: See quots.

?Nth

1939 FWP ID Lore 242. Some Mild Profanity By the bald-headed Jews the more emphatic variants substitute members of the Trin1965-66 DARE FW Addit neME, Bald-headed— a mild cuss ity. word, as in "Oh. bald-headed!" or "Why you bald-headed so-and-so!" !") Inf 1966 DARE (Qu. NN29c, Exclamations. : "Holy MHO. Old bald-headed [phrase] can be continued. .

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bald-headed adv 1

Precipitately; hurriedly, without caution.

chiefly Nth,

[See quot 1872]

West

1848 Lowell Biglow 79 NEng, I scent wich pays the best, an' then / Go 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 581, Baldit baldheaded. headed, to go it, is a very peculiar but not unfrequent phrase in New England, suggestive of the eagerness with which men rush to do a thing without taking time to cover their head. 1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 June 4/2, The Chicago Republicans, to use an Americanism, have gone "baldheaded" for Protection. If shouting could win a Presidential con1958 McCulloch Woods test. Blaine and Protection would be certain. Words 6 Pacific NW, Bald-headed ... To go at a job by main strength and ignorance, having no real sawy of how to do it. 1967 DARE (Qu. KK52, In an indirect and complicated way: "I don't know why he had to go to do that. ") Inf WY3, At it bald-headed. into

.

.

2 in phr snatch or jerk (one) ~:

To manhandle; to treat roughly.

1869 Overland Mth. 2.190/2, None but a wild and savage animal, of course, would "snatch a gentleman bald-headed," as the old man expressed it. 1909 Twain Is Shakespeare Dead 6 Missip Valley, Can't you keep away from that greasy water? pull her down! snatch her! snatch her baldheaded! 1928 Ruppenthal Coll. KS, If you do not mind her 1945 Jefferson Co. Republican (Golden she'll snatch you baldheaded. Colo.) 28 Feb 2/2 (DA), Just let me get hold of em, I'll jerk 'em bald-headed!

bald-headed brant See bald brant bald-headed buzzard n =turkey vulture.

shirt

1969

— A cowboy's term

Adams Western Words, Baldface dishes dishes. He is used to eating out of granite

for

or tin plates or bowls.

bald-faced shirt n Also bally-faced shirt West See also boiled shirt,

—

Wood Ibis. Bald-head. 2 The bare, rounded top of a Cfbaldn 1.3.

1

bald-faced adj See also baldface n 1, 2, bald-faced hornet 1 Of an animal, esp of a horse: having a white face, or a white mark on the face. See also baldy n 1648 in 1887 Archives of MD 4.425, Making a private conueyance betweene themselues of a Bawld-facd heighfer. 1899 (1912) Green A Folk-Speech, Boldfaced Having a white face. Said of ammals. 1930 AmSp 6.97 cnNY, Boldfaced: white-faced (as applied to horses). "Dan's

face) Inf

ibis.

bald-headed

\

Among loggers and railroad workers: to push head-on with a locomotive; see quots. 1950 Western Folkl. 9.116 OR, Boldfacing logs. Shoving a train of logs ahead of the engine. 1977 Adams Lang. Railroader, Boldfacing logs: Loaded log cars being pushed by a locomotive from the rear.

.

=wood

1913 Auk 30.491, Mycteria americana

.

corn whiskey. Said to be a reference to bald-face hornets; they're hot, too. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Bald face Whiskey. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo 4 NEng, Gt Lakes, Bald-faced whisky A potent, cheap grade of whisky. 1972 Cooper Mt. Folkl. 89, Bald faced whiskey whiskey fresh from the still. face

1

.

horses according to their color) Infs TX8, 16, Baldface; CA63, Baldface white all the way down front of head; TX 102. Baldface lot of white

—

by which a Western cowboy knows a white shirt. It is thought to come from the fact of Hereford cattle having white faces. 1941 FWP Guide H Y 2 3. These occasions filled the inn to capacity: women in evening gowns, men in "bally-faced, board shirts' and tails. 1944 Adams Western Words. Baldfaced A stiff-bosomed shirt, sometimes called boiled.

hereford

Q13) Inf GA80, Bald-headed buzzard— a kind

[of

bald-headed cow See baldhead 3 bald-headed eagle See bald eagle

1

bald-headed gannet n

A men's white dress shirt. 1889 (1971) Farmer Americanisms 33, Bald-faced

DARE (Qu.

vulture].

shirt.

— The name

=wood

ibis.

1955 Oriole 20.3,

Wood

Ibis

.

.

.

Bald-headed Gannet (the head

is

— bald-headed pie

137

unfeathered; gannet, perhaps by transfer from the large sea fowl, ordinarmostly white ily so called, probably from resemblance in color pattern

—

with black wing

tips).

bald-headed pie n =apple pandowdy. 1941

1

cMA,

inf.

Bald-headed

1

1

—

—

2 Transf: a row of seats within a church, usu near the front. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. CC5, Seats in a church, especially near the front) Infs IA3, NY145, UT4, WI19, Bald-headed row; CA7, Baldin back: first two rows; CT12A, Bald-headed row headed rows NCI 3, Bald-headed row [laughter]; SCI 1. Bald-headed row for people who can't hear well, near the front: SC21, Bald-head row— front from the front row in a burlesque show. All row old men sat there the old men went up front. .

.

— —

—

—

bald hornet See bald-faced hornet

baldpate n 1 A medium-sized, reddish-brown duck (Mareca americana, also known as Anas americana) distinguished by a prominent white crown. Also called baldcrown, baldface n 1 bald widgeon, bailie, bluebill 3, brown widgeon, gray duck, green-headed widgeon, poacher, robber duck, smoking duck, specklebelly, summer duck, wheat duck, whistler, whistling dick, whistling duck, ,

Widgeons, or 1814 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 8.86 Chesapeake Bay, The as they are called round the bay, Bald pates. 1838 Audubon Ornith. Biog. 4.337, Anas Americana ... In the Western Country, and in most parts of the Eastern and Middle States, it is called the Bald Pate. 1917 DN 4.422 LA, NEng. 1950 WELS 1 Inf, ceWI, Baldpate. 1967-70 .

.

(Qu. Q5) Infs GA18, MD45. PA 180, VA47, Baldpate (duck); half the size of IA3, Baldpate American widgeon; MD34, Baldpate [a] mallard, usually fat; PA 155, Widgeon or bal'pate.

—

—

2 =surf scoter. 1888 Trumbull Names ofBirds 103, Surf Scoter to some at Eastport [ME], Bald-pate. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.151, Surf scoter Other .

.

.

.

.

.

1955

6,

is

far

from

bald.).

1.

1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.120, Baldpate Other Names: Bald Widgeon. 1932 Bennitt Check-list 18 MO, Baldpate bald widgeon. 1947 Sun (Baltimore MD) 29 Jan 12/3 (Hench Coll.), Baldpate Mareca Americana (Gmelinj. Also known as bald widgeon. .

.

.

.

—

.

Also

1

bally,

bawsey

bawsie

.

.

.

.

See also baldface n 2 and

SND

often used as a nickname. horse or cow 1894 Outing 24.216/2 CT, Well, I tried to wear it [=a whip] out on Baldy coming down. 1904 (1932) Rice Sandy 94 KY, I d-drove dad's buggy so he would come to the r-rescue. and he swung on to old 1913 (1979) Barnes B-Baldy's neck like he had been a racehorse. Horse with a white face. 1930 Western Grazing 380 West, Baldy Shoemaker 1300 Words 8 cPA Mts (as of cl900), Bawsie— A white 395, Breeds [of faced horse or bovine animal. 1941 FWP Guide cattle] are mixed on the average farm, producing roans, 'black bailies,' and spotted reds. .

.

.

.

WY

baldy n 2 Also called

A ball bearing used DARE

bearings.

1

See quot. 1948 Collier's 14 Feb 23 Boston

MA. In the summer the demands for blueberry cake, strawberry shortcake and. for some mysterious reason. a combination of peas, string beans and potatoes "bale of hay" reach enormous proportions.

—

know one from a bale of hay (or crap): A person one does not know or cannot identify', joe ") 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 1126, "I wouldn't know him from Infs IL80. MI44. NE4. NY1, 32, 199, 219, OH95, PA 175, Bale of hay; NY131. Bale of crap. 2 In phr not to

.

.

3 Among loggers: see quot. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 6 Pacific NW, Bale of hay— A very crude splice in wire rope made by a green logger; has jaggers sticking out

on

all sides.

balfouder n [See quot] 1940 Hench Coll. neKY, A member of the English faculty of the Univ. he heard children of Va. said that once when he was in Maysville. Ky dressed up for Christmas. Thanksgiving, etc.. called "balfouders." He said the word was originally "bal poudre." a powdered ball, or byextension, a person who goes to a powdered ball. A powdered ball was a high-class social function, with dancing, etc. "Powder" presumably refers to powder on wigs. .

1

See quot. 1940 Hench

pile

.

said that a balk can be a Coll. cnVA, A native Virginian of leaves, or brush piled up around a tree or bush. .

.

The center of an unpaved road: see quot. The unploughed section in the 1959 IT Hist, ns 27.124, Balk middle of the road, left when roads were "broken out" by a two-horse team and heavy farm sled obsolescent. 2

.

.

.

.

.

3 See quot. 1894 DN 1.340 seNY, Balk ... an iron stake used to "stake out" an animal to graze.

4 in phr the balks:

Fits

.

.

who was

.

.

of stubbornness.

nwMS, I was a sickly youngster who never had

docile but given to the balks.

balkenbry n Also sp balken brie, balkenbrij [Du balk beam, rafter (from which the meat mixture is hung to cure) + bry] swMI and other Dutch settlement areas See quot 1940. 1940 AmSp 15.83 swMI, Balkenbry [txilkanbrai]. A loaf made of pork and lean pork, cooked, and later sliced and fried. 1950 WELS (Foreign foods favored in your neighborhood) 1 Inf. seWI, Balken brie. 1964 (1971) £« Smakelijk 307 swMI. Balkenbrij. Ibid 567, Balken liver

— Dutch

Breakfast Mush Slice as needed and fry slices Serve as a breakfast dish in place of bacon or sausage. 1969 DARE (Qu. H43. Foods made from parts ofthe head and inner organs of mainly liver and an animal) Inf MI 102, Balkenbry ['bolkan.brai] pork; mixture is cooked, stuffed into a cloth bag. spices added, then Brij

.

.

.

recooked: the

1981 ball

n

slices are

cut off and fried

.

.

.

similar to liver sausage.

[see bry], 1

tl The yolk of an egg. CfD5H34 1941 LANE Map 296 (Yolk) inf. neMA, 1

[bal],

'I

ME15, Baldies— ball

call

it.'

2 See quot.

1954P.4D521.20SC,Ba//. One of the two bulging sides of a bale of i.e.. the two sides which were subjected to pressure in baling. 3 also French ball: Hair coiled at the back of a woman's head: a bun. chiefly Sth See Map See also ball v .

cotton,

as a playing marble.

(Qu. EE6d. Special marbles) Inf

.

—

.

steelie

.

.

,

.

1966

bale of hay n

brown

—

A bald-faced

—

Buffle-head. Baldpate (Mass. In allusion to

the white crown, which, however,

baldy n

In a homemade distillery: see quot. wire or chain strapped across top 1972 Foxfire Book 3 1 5 neGA, Bale of cap to keep it from blowing off during the cooking process.

illnesses. 1

bald widgeon n

=baldpate

bale n 2 [Ibail hoop-handle of a pot or similar vessel]

1941 Percy Lanterns 76

2.

MA Audubon 39.3

.

.

Baldpate.

3 =bufflehead

.

balk n

white-belly, white-face, widgeon, zin-zin

.

small package. 1940 AmSp 15.446 eTN, Bale. A package, i focht [=fetched] a bale of Box soda from the crossroads store.' 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Bale of baking soda. 1980 DARE File wNC (as of cl918), Bail of snuff— a very small quantin m a paper package, price then five cents.

,

1

occupant of the bald-head row were of no avail, the proud Italian girl 1889 (1971) Fanner Americanisms, Baldtreating them with scorn. The first row of stalls at theatres, especially those which headed Row. make a feature of ballets ... the innuendo is obvious. 1944 Pyle Brave Men 1 20 IN, One night I went to a USO show given in a rest area and was put in the bald-headed row up front. 1968 DARE (QR, near Qu. CC5) front seats in a burlesque. Bald-headed row

Names

A

pie.

bald-headed row n Also bald-head row joe 1 The front row of a theater (proverbially occupied by baldheaded men). 1887 Courier-Jrl. (Louisville KY) 6 Jan 0/ The arts and wiles of the

DARE

[bale large bundle of merchandise]

Also sp bail

1

.

LANE Map 292 (Apple Dumpling)

—

bale n

ball

/

1

ball

ball-headed

/

138

1965-70 DARE (Qu. X3, When a woman puts her hair up on her head a bunch you call this a ) 73 Infs, chiefly Sth, Ball; VA73,

in

French

B

Sense.

The words

or the written manuscript for a song, chiefly S Midi Also called song-ballad 1927 [see quot at A above]. 1927 AmSp 2.348 WV, She has promised to write me the ballet of that song. 1929 AmSp 5.87 sAppalachians, None of the singers whom I visited possessed any printed song-sheets, but some of them produced written copies, usually made by children, which they call "ballets." Ibid 88 MS, Those among whom ballads were current applied the term "ballet" to the manuscript copy of a ballad or song without reference to the maker of it. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Ballad Used for the written words of a song, whether a ballad

[EDD

ball.

ballet 1]

DN

.

.

.

.

.

in the usual sense or not.

ballaho See balao

and

ball

(the) jack See ball the jack 2

ballast n [Transffrom nautical use, material placed aboard ship to stabilize it when empty of cargo] in

1

phr have ballast on board:

To be

drunk.

1891 Maitland Amer. Slang Diet. 24, A drunken man has too much ballast on board. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Ballast "With their ballast on board;" that is, drunk. .

4 The rounded back part of the head. 1982 Foxfire 7 250 nGA, She'd lay her hand on me and

my

kiss the ball

of

n 2 [Fr bal dance] ball v 2

among Black

esp

ball

An uninhibited, noisy drinking party.

speakers

(Note: this

is

AmSp

9.287

PA

[Black], Ball.

Any

See also

the origin of

the widespread phr have a ball to enjoy oneself; see

DS FF17)

riotous or hilarious party or

a pre-arranged gathering. 1960 Wentworth - Flexner Slang, Ball party, esp. a wild, unrestrained, uninhibited, boisterous, or noisy party some early cl935 Negro jive use. Orig. pop. by bop and cool Now common student and teenage use. use, and assoc. with jazz 1967-70 DARE (Qu. DD34, A party at which there is considerable drinking) Infs FL52, Mil 15, PA 164, SC68, 69, TN50, Ball; GA82, young Drunken ball; (Qu. FF1 8) Infs AL60, Ball; M035, Made a ball kids like "ball"; SC40, Put on a ball. [5 of 10 Infs Black] .

.

.

2 Esp among railroad workers: heavy food, as turkey stuffing. joe 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 332, Ballast Turkey or chicken dressing. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 6 Pacific NW, Ballast Heavy bread (but never mentioned in the hearing of the camp cook). 1977

.

.

.

Adams

.

.

—

Also ball up

[ball

hair hangin'

down,

Hence

plaited.

balling vbl n

n2]

chiefly

among Black

To have

a good or exciting time. 1942 Amer. Mercury 55.94 NYC [Black], Balling— having fun. 1958 Hughes -Bontemps Negro Folkl. 481 NYC, Ball: To have riotous fun. On Saturday we ball! 1968-70 DARE (Qu. FF18, About a noisy or boisterous celebration or party: "They certainly last night. ") .

InfsDC12,IL140,MO23,MA128,NY55,

235,

.

OH103, Balled.

[All Infs

1970 Major Afro -Amer. Slang, Ball: to have social or sexual fun or both. 1970 DARE (QR, near Qu. DD34) Inf FL52, We're going Black]

balling tonight. [Inf Black]

Usu

fbaebdl; chiefly in

ballet, ballit, ballot, valet

S Midi,

[OED

freq

Pronc-spp "obs. forms of

|'baelit|

ballet, -ette,

ballad^ A Forms.

DN

1899 (1912) Green VA Folk1917 DN 4.407 wNC, Ballet. Variant of ballad. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 352 sAppalachians, Most hillsmen ballet (ballad). 1927 ZW5.4720zarks, My boy he written out th' say ballot o' thet 'ar song. 1927 Kennedy Gritny 39 sLA [Black], All the "ballets" and "sinful songs" disseminated by "backsliders" and "evilworkers." 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words cPA Mts (as of c 1900), Ballet An old time poem, or folk song. 1931 PMLA 46.1317 sAppalaand chians, Ballet. 1934 Carmer Stars Fell on AL 69, Pick a ballit sing it. Pick Barbary Allen. 1937 AmSp 12.231 NJ [Black], Ballet. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.518 wNC, ['baelit]. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Ballad /baebd, baelit/. 1896

swNC,

1.425

Speech, Ballet

.

whang

beat or handle roughly. 1908 DN 3.288 eAL, wGA, He was ballawhanged

over the head.

all

ball-back See ball-come-back ball

.

.

.

bug n

=sowbug. 1967

up

DARE (QR, near pl21) Inf C031, Ball bug— sow bug— will roll round

in a

ball if they are

touched.

cheese n Cf hand cheese

Song-valet.

Ballad.

.

—

.

.

DARE

(Qu. H60, The lumpy white cheese that milk) Inf PA242, Ball cheese.

1970

ball-come-back exclam Also ball-back anti-come-back, and DS EE23b In the

1967 ball

[ball

See also ball the jack 4

speakers

ballad n

3,

To

1

—

2 ball v

.

10.

ballawhang v Cf ballyhack v

ball

n 3] Sth To put up one's hair in a bun. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. X3) Inf TX36, Balling her hair; NC49, Balling it; GA9, Balled up; NC40, Ball up; GA33, She balls it up. 1967 DAREFW Addit cnNC, Ball up to put your hair up on your head in a ball (bun). 1967 DARE Tape SC46, You get a certain age, you were eligible to have your hair balled up. As long as you were in your teenages, you wore your 1

Lang. Railroader

.

.

.

ball v

.

—

head.

1934

.

is

See also

game of Antony-over: =pigtail exclam. EE23b) Inf OH8, Ball-come-back;

DARE (Qu.

coot See bald coot

balled up adj phr

madefrom sour back-ball,

IL9, Ball-back.

1

Cf backed up

Constipated. 1968 DARE (Qu. BB21) Inf

TX,

My

MD24, Balled up. 1983 NADS Letters who died at age 86 in 1974, always used the expression He grew up in East Texas but lived in Houston more than

father,

"balled up".

50 years. ballet See ballad

ballface See baldface n

1,

3

ball-faced whiskey See baldface n 3

n [From its shape when distended] =porcupine fish. 1884 Goode Fisheries U.S. 1.170, The Porcupine Fishes ... monly known by such names as 'Burr Fish,' 'Ball Fish,' [etc].

ball fish

ballhead

n, also attrib

are

com-

Also bullhead

See quot 1962. 1955 Adams Grandfather 20 cNY (as of 1 870s), We could have told a ballhead from a needleboat a mile away. 1962 Wyld Low Bridge 84 nNY, One type of canal boat was rounded rather than blunt-ended. Nicknamed ball-head boats at first, they later became known as bullheads. 1978 Pioneer Amer. June 92, The first important water craft of This boat is commonly called a the mountain people was the dugout .

.

.

Tennessee River busthead or bullhead, but other names are used.

ball-headed See bald-headed adj

1

ballhoot

139

hence ballhoot ing vbl

ball hoot v,

n

n, ball hooter

[Cf scallyhoot]

In logging: to roll logs down a steep incline. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 269 wNC, I have had a drunken "ballhooter" (log-roller) from the lumber camps fire five shots around my Review 7.1.28, Anyone who has frehead as a feu-de-joie 1929 shooting ball-hootin' logs quented logging operations has heard logs down over a steep incline to a lower level. 1930 DN 6.86 cYVV, 1 49 nwCA, Ball Hooting Rolling logs free Ballhoot. 1956 AmSp 3 down an incline. 1966 DARE Tape NC31, And that word was balland then you hooting. Ball-hooting logs. The tree was sawed down hook and turned it over to where it would go down the hill of its took a own momentum. 1968 Adams Western Words. 1969 Sorden LumOne who rolls logs berjack Lingo 5 NEng, Gt Lakes, Ball Hooter

WV

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

a hillside.

.

.

.

Bailie (Mass.

Nickname

for

Baldpate.).

n Also called call-ball see quot 1883.

A children's game: .

a

.

.

name called. The lad named must strike back the ball

1966

rebound.

DARE (Qu.

EE33) Inf SCI 9,

Ballie-callie.

the jack See ball the jack 2 See ballad

Rept. for 1905 366, Trichodiodon Chilomycterus schoepfi Spotted BalIt has less power of inflating than our 1960 Amer. Fisheries Soc. List Fishes 49, Balloonfish Dio-

Balloon Fish loon Fish. Balloon Fish .

.

puffers.

.

moss n

1939 Tharp Vegetation TX 47, Ball Moss (Tillandsia recurvata) is oaks and mesquite in the uplands Bailey's Ball Moss (Tillandsia baileyi) ... is much larger than the former and has large, deep rose-colored flowers an inch across. 1951 PADS 15.28 TX, Tillandsia baileyi ... Big or Mexican, bunch or ball, moss. 1970 Correll

common on

ball

.

TX 356,

dense

Tillandsia recurvata

ball-like

naked

adj [Cf

.

.

Ball moss

.

.

.

Plants typically

.

.

.

.

.

A fish of the family Tetraodontidae (see puffer). 1889 Century Diet., Balloon-fish ... A fish of the suborder Gymnodontes, as the tropical Tetraodon lineatus or a species of one of the genera Triodon and Diodon. So called because it has the power of swallowing air. which is retained in a dilatation of the esophagus, and thus of blowing itself up into a nearly spherical shape like a balloon. 1926 Pan-Pacific Research Inst. 1.13 Jrl HI, Tetraodon Oopuhue. Balloonfish: Gourd fish. 1960 Gosline-Brock hispidus Hawaiian Fishes 298, Family Tetraodontidae (Puffers or BalloonThey not only have the power of inflating themselves like a fishes) balloon but have the reputation of being poisonous when eaten. 1967 DARE (Qu. P4. Saltwater fish that are not good to eat) Infs HI4. 14. .

.

NC87,

.

.

.

.

.

.

ballocks See bollix v

phr arch CfZXSU15 .4 2 seNY, Ball off: to treat. "He 1

Balloonfish.

NW,

Pacific

Balloon

it

— To pack up

shrimp net with a large belly or catching area. 1966-69 DARE Tape SCI 8. Balloon nets and flat nets are main types; TX14, There's different ways of making the nets got what they call the balloon net.

See also balloon it 1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Balloon. Bedding, especially when carried over the shoulder in a roll, which when loosely tied does resemble a balloon in some degree. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 7 Pacific NW. 1968 Adams Western Words. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo 5 loggers: a bedroll.

—

NEng, Gt Lakes, Balloon

.

They

.

[FW:] they got the flat net Which one do you use mostly around here? [Inf:] Well, a balloon net offshore It's just a lot more webbing. If you're very skimpy when you're building your net, you can't get much in the bag or tail of the net. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

balloon plant n Also balloon (-pod) milkvetch

A western milkvetch (Astragalus whitneyi) with greatly inflated, bladdery pods. 1925 Jepson Manual Plants CA 564, Balloon Plant Pods strongly inflated, balloon-shaped. 1961 Peck Manual OR 483, A. Whitneyi Balloon-pod Milk Vetch. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora .

.

.

.

.

.

.

NW 236, Balloon m[ilkvetch].

— A pack; a bedroll.

roof. [2

balloon vine n

An

herbaceous vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum) with inbladdery seed capsules, each containing three black seeds marked with a white heart-shaped scar. Also called heartseed, flated,

Indian heart, puffball, winter cherry 1840 Phelps Lectures on Botany App 84, Balloon vine. [Native of] East Indies. Flowers white and green. 1847 Wood Class-Book 215, Heart- seed. Balloon-vine Native on the Missouri and its branches. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 608, Balloon Vine [grows in] Louisianan area. South Carolina, Florida, and Texas. 1932 Rydberg Flora Prairies 531, Balloon Vine Capsule inflated, 3-angled, membranous, veiny. 1968 Barkley Plants KS 229, Cardiospermum halicacabum Balloonvine Escaped from cultivation. .

.

.

.

.

Now esp among

the two

.

.

balled off his customers."

balloon n

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

weed n ground cherry (here: Physalis mollis). 1951 PADS 5.38 TX, Physalis mollis Cowslip

balloon

A

2 also balloon Y: See quots. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Balloon balloon shaped track for turning engines. 1962 AmSp 37.131 nCA, Bal-

Y—A

A

.

barn roof having rounded or arched sides. 1950 W ELS (Shapes ofroofs on barns) 3 Infs. ce,cwWI, Balloon Infs drew pictures.]

ballo See bayo 2

1

.

.

A

Ball naked.

.

DN

.

,

balloon roof n Inf

nettle.

ball off v

.

.

.

balloon it v phr [balloon 1] 1958 McCulloch Woods Words and leave camp.

Pacific

Cfbollicky

1950 Gray -Fernald Manual ofBotany 1254,5. carolinense Horse1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 236, Solanum Carolinense Common Names: Horse nettle, ball nettle.

loon ...

.

.

2

.

OEDS ballock-naked]

nettle, Ball-nettle.

1

.

.

n

ball nettle

=horse

.

.

clumps.

Completely naked. 1970 DARE (Qu. W20)

1896

.

.

don holacanthus.

.

cigarette moss.

in

.

.

A

[See quot 1970]

Either of two clump-forming epiphytes native to the southern U.S.: Tillandsia recurvata, also called bunch moss, fence moss, and wire moss, or Tillandsia baileyi, also called bunch moss and

Plants

.

balloon net n Cf flat net

n

ballix See bollix v, ball

.

sport of school-boys in

the house, and

ballit

[OED

fish).

Museum Annual

1906 NJ State pilosus

.

& Songs 181, Ballie-callie was formerly a comNew England. The ball was thrown against

1883 Newell Games

its

body]

1834—]

.

ballie-callie

on

ability to inflate its

its

of the familv Diodontidae (see porcupine

fish

.

n =baldpate 1. 1955 MA Audubon 39.314, Baldpate

ballin'

A

1

— puffs up.

.

bailie

mon

.

.

—

down

.

balloonfish n [From

.

.

.

.

.

(Qu. H 8, Special kinds of bread) Inf OR3, Balloon bread but not as heavy as loaf. 1

ballow

/

1

.

.

.

vines;

paper hearts;

balloon weed.

Y

balloon

See balloon 2

balloon-shaped track for turning the [logging railroad] enballot See ballad

gines.

[EDD

ballow v

balloon bread n See quot 1965. 1965 Britannica Book ofYr. 868, Balloon bread. A one-pound loaf of bread shaped and puffed to look like a standard Vi-lb. loaf. 1967 DARE 1

Among 1956

AmSp

ballow

.

ballow v

1]

Cf aikie(s) and

DS V5b,

118

children: to lay claim to (something).

.

3

1

.37

eMA, There

is

the pattern / hosie

that. All these assert 'This is

mine.'

— or hoosie

.

.

or

ball

shoe

ball

shoe n

balm

/

140

?chicfly

S Midi

A sneaker. W8,

.

cwTN,

Coll.

Ball shoes:

Same

as tennis shoes.

'"Em

old

make ye stank worsern a mad polecat." 1966-69 DARE (Qu.

Low

.

canvas-top shoes with rubber soles) Infs AR23, KY23, 42,

1

rapidly; transf, to

work

swiftly or energetically.

cl925 in 1944 ADD nWV, The car certainly did ball the jack. 1931 AmSpl.53 Sth, SW, "Ballin' the jack" and "railroadin' without steam" mean going fast. 1935 in 1953 Botkin Treas. Railroad Folk!. 232, 1 can make out the sparks from the two engines. That is why she is balling the She won't lose any time going where she is going. jack so much move swiftly, a term often used cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Ball the jack .

.

.

—

1962

for a train that goes fast.

A

logging train that

Z)AR£ (Qu.KK29)InfILl

AmSp

37.131 nCA, 'Ballin' the making a fast run. 1970

highballing or

is

16, Ballin' the jack.

Slang, Balling the Jack ...

To work

1910 Major Afro -Amer.

among

Blacks Mag. 65.253 GA coast, Nine-year-old Isaac rolled up his long trouser legs and began "balling the jack," while one of his sisters provided the cadence by clapping her hands. 1959 Lomax Rainbow Sign 35 AL [Black], Meanwhile some old boy be just ballin-the-jack and cuttin up dancin. 1963 Wright Lawd Today 93 Chicago IL [Black], 1934

1844 Thompson Major Jones's Courtship 57 GA, Thunderation, how fly! enuffto blow all creation to Ballyhack. 1845 Judd Margaret 55 NEng, "Yes, and Obed is here too." "Let Obed go to Ballyhack. Come along out." 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, the steem did

—

Ballyhack "Go to Ballyhack!" a common expression in New England. I know not its origin. It savors in sound, however, of the Emerald Isle. 1895 1.396 cNY, Ballyhack [baelihaek]: To knock anything to ballyhack is utterly to ruin it. "He knocked the plate all to ballyhack." 1901 Nation 73.413/3 NEng (as of cl850), The phrase "Go to Ballyhack" (or "to Balahack") was in use among the young, as a general rejoinder. 1903 2.295 Cape Cod (as of 1850s), Belhack ... In expression 'go way to Belhack.' 1905 3.3 cCT, Ballyhack or ballywack ... To go to Ballyhack is to go to hell. 1908 3.288 eAL, wGA. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. NN26b, Substitutes for 'hell': "Go to '") Inf MA71, Bally-hack; MA98, Ballwhack.

DN

DN

Natl. Geog.

Suddenly she stopped, cut a few steps from the Charleston, Balled the and tripped off softly in perfect time to the music. 1968 Stearns Jazz Dance 98, Jack is the name given to the locomotive by the Negro folk, on the analogy of the indestructible donkey or jackass, while ballin' comes from high balling, the trainman's hand signal to start rolling. Hence, "ballin' the jack" means traveling fast and having a good time. The Negro folk had been dancing the various steps incorporated in "Ballin' the Jack" for many years .. before the song [by Cris Smith] was published [in 1914]. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. FF5a) Infs SC10, 26, Ball the jack; KY23, 92,

MS86,

Ball and (the) jack; NC49, Balling the jack. [4 of 6 Infs Black.] 1970 Major Afro-Amer. Slang, Balling the Jack: Negro dance accompanied by lusty handclapping and chants.

To move

conspicuous manner. Y22, To move around in a way to make people take ") Inf IL1 16, Ball the jack. notice of you: "Look at him 4 =ball v 2 1968 DARE (Qu. FF18, "They certainly last night. ") Inf 1970

in a

DARE (Qu. .

.

PA 175,

.

Balled the jack.

5 See quot. 1927 AmSp 2.348 wcWV, Ball the jack ... To risk everything on one attempt. "The team balled the jack on that play."

6

To be

the last straw.

1968 DARE (Qu. GG22b, When you come to the end ofyour patience, ") Inf PA 175, Balls the you might say, "Well, that certainly jack.

ball

up See

ball

v

1

ballup n [Scots; prob alter of bag

"Obs. exc.

+ lap flap (cf earlapper); OED

dial.'"]

1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.518cnNC,Ba//up['ba2bp] of the breeches; the codpiece. ball willow

.

.

The front or flap

A low swale willow called locally "ball" willow.

filled

with grass and a species of

LANE Map

buttonball, used to

make

1

2 See quot.

1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.518 c,wNC, Ballyhack ... To impose on.

Inf,

swCT, Ballwood

tree, the

butchers' blocks.

1

.

.

.

.

.

with a texture resembling a torn rubber ball ... In addition to sponges, "bailies." known as the egg-heavy females are .

.

To

3

beat thoroughly. DARE (Qu. Y15,

1966

.

.

"John really

that fellow.") Inf

ME 13, Bollyhocked. ballyhoo See balao

balm n Usu |bam|; in Sth, Midi freq |baem|; occas larly adj balmy |baemi| Pronc-spp ba'm, ba'my, calm, palm

A

Simi-

|bom|

bammy Cf

Forms.

Commonly [baem]. So also DN 3.288 eAL, wGA, Balm balmy [baemi]. 1921 Thorp Songs Cowboys 36 NM, Where the air is 1923 DN 5.200 swMO, soft and bammy and dry and full of health. 1908

.

.

.

.

.

Balmy. 1928 AmSp 3.401 Ozarks, Calm pronounced cam and bammy. 1942 Hall others Smoky Ml. Speech 104 eTN, wNC, Older speakers say [baem] say [bom]. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Balm [baem]. 1969 WV Hist. of many words has 30.468 Appalachians, Pronunciation bammy for balmy. changed

Ba'm.

Balm. Ba'my

.

and balmy are

.

.

.

regularly

.

.

.

.

B

Any

1

.

Senses.

of var aromatic plants, esp of the mint family, as here:

a =lemon balm. 1637 (1972) Morton New Engl. Canaan 67, Hunnisuckles, balme, and divers other good herbes are there, that grow without the industry of man. 1709 Lawson Carolina 11 (DAE), Our Pot-herbs and others of use, which we already possess, are Angelica wild and tame, Balm, 1813 Muhlenberg Catalogus Plantarum 56, Melissa: Buglos. common. Pens. fl. Aug. Georg. 1840 MA Zool. & Bot. Surv. balm, Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 183, M. officinalis ... The true Formerly used as a tonic, diuretic, and stomachic. 1894 Jrl. Balm N[ew] E[ngland]. Amer. Folkl. 7.96, Lemon-balm, common balm, 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 8, Balm is found sparingly in waste places, thickets, and woods. 1 975 Hamel - Chiltoskey Cherokee Plants Stimulant and tonic; for old colds. 24, Balm .

.

.

.

.

.

n [Perh alter of belly] Also called lemon-belly, punk A mature female crab laden with eggs. begin to 1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 143 eMD, The sooks The egg mass is ponderously large, open their abdominal aprons

bally

confuse (something); to blunder.

1901 Nation 73.413/3 NEng (as of cl850), The expression "Don't Balahack it now," seems familiar too.

.

.

.

coccinea Monarda Flora Med. 35, Zool. Mountain Balm, Red Balm. 1840 Vulgar Com& Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 175, M. didyma monly called balm or bee-balm. 1895 Gray-Bailey Field Botany 352, Monarda, Horsemint or Balm. 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild aromatic Flowers 456, There are several kinds of Monarda, all herbs These plants are called Balm, Bergamot, and Horse-mint. .

244 (Sycamore)

To

1

b =horsemint 1. Rafinesque 1828

ballwood tree n =sycamore. 1941

Cfma-

ballyhack v Also sp balahack, hollyhock [ballyhack n] lahack

.

n

1895 Outing 29.538/ 1 nIL,

.

.

Jack, crooned snatches from a popular blues song,

3

MA

DN

DN

swiftly.

2 To perform an energetic dance accompanied by vigorous handclapping; also n ballin' the jack, occas ball and (the) jack, chiefly

NEng euphem

Hell.

the jack v phr [See quot 1968 at 2] Esp of a locomotive or train: to move

Jack ...

ballyhack n Also balahack, ballwhack, ballywack, belhack [Etym uncert; perh Ir bade town, village + hack, heck hell] chiefly

Ball shoes.

ball

1

bally-faced shirt See bald-faced shirt

1954 Harder ball shoes

n 2 See baldy n

bally

.

.

.

.

Names

.

.

.

.

MA

.

.

.

.

Krochmal

1971 scarlet

c

A

.

.

.

.

didyma

.

.

.

.

Appalachia

Common Names:

.

.

Monarda Plants 178, red balm, rose balm,

Med. low balm,

.

.

balm.

pennyroyal 3 (here: Monardella odoratissima).

.

balm buds

141

OR

1961 Peck Manual Balm. 2 See

balm

678, MfonardellaJ odoratissima

.

.

.

Western

nica

.

.

tree

balm

balm of Gilead 4

for Gilead See

=turtlehead. 1848 Gray Manual of Botany 298, CfheloneJ glabra Called Balmony. 1901 Lounsberry S Wild Flowers 461, CfheloneJ also glabra, turtle-head, shell-flower, or balmony. cl937 in 1970 Yetman Voices 214 OK, Balmony and queen's delight boiled and mixed would make good blood medicine. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants

balm of Gilead 2a

of Gilead n For prone

canariensis) of the

and sp varr

see quots

fragrant garden plant (Cedronella family, naturalized to some extent in

mint

California. canariense (balm of gi1822 Eaton Botany 269, Dracocephalum 1961 Thomas Flora Santa Cruz 299 CA, herb.). Herb-of-Gilead, Balm-of-Gilead. Occacanariensis Cedronella sional as an escape from cultivation in San Francisco. .

.

.

lead

.

.

.

.

.

.

A balsam-yielding tree, here: A poplar, esp the balsam poplar, or a clone or hybrid thereof.

2

a

.

84.

A

also herb of Gilead:

.

.

balm lemon See lemon balm 1

Leaves stimulant, anodyne, used as a con-

1

.

balm

.

balmony n [Etym unknown]

tree,

gily See

Balm-of-heaven

diment.

balm buds See balm

balm

.

balsam

/

2

A

beardtongue (here: Penstemon laxiflorus).

—

1970 DARE (Qu. S26a) Inf TX84, Penstemon balmony— used as remedy for diseases, used as tea. cl979 TX Dept. Highways Flowers, Early settlers called the plant "balmony," and brewed a laxative tea from the leaves. Penstemon laxiflorus.

balm tree n Also balm, balm buds

A

poplar, esp the balsam poplar. 1825 (1933) Sibley Santa Fe Diary 141, There is some scattering willows and balm trees. 1873 Miller Modocs 387 CA, A stream is foaming among the mossy rocks in a canon below the house, with balm and madrono on its banks. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 9. Balm-ofGilead Poplar ... Other common names. Balsam poplar, balm buds. 1940 ( 1 95 1 ) FWP Guide OR 413, Deception Creek bridge is near a beautiful cascade in the river shadowed by balm trees. 1950 Peattie Nat. Hist. Trees 100, To the pulp loggers of the North Woods it is Balm-of-Gilead Sometimes the loggers call it Balsam, or, again, .

The 784 in 1 785 Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Memoirs 1 .49 1 Populus Black Poplar, commonly called, in the northern states, the Balm of 1844 Lee-Frost 10 Yrs. OR 116, It is a kind of rolling Gilead. along its rivulets, fringed with the cotton-wood or balm of prairie, Gilead. 1916 Seton Woodcraft Manual Girls 273, Balsam Poplar, Balm of Gilead, or Tacamahac (Populus balsamifera). 1941 FWP Guide WI a fast-growing, sweet322, Adjacent Woodlots are crowded with smelling, soft popple, which lumberjacks called bumgilhan, said to be a garbled form of Balm of Gilead. 1944 PADS 2.53 MO, VA, Bammygilly-um ['bami'giliam]. 1946 PADS 6.5 eNC, Bamly Gillyard tree The balm of Gilead tree. cl960 Wilson Coll. ['basmli 'gih>d, -ad] Also ['gill], ['gitam]. ['giljam]. csKY, Balm [baem] of Gilead 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. T 1 2) 44 Infs, chiefly Nth, Balm o' Gilead; ME2 1 1

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

MA5, MI45,

53, 108, Balm of Gilead; AR24, Balm of gilyum; KY47, NV8, NY219, NC72, OH72, VA46, Balm o' gilyum; 6, Balm gily; KYI 6, Balm o' gilya; NY 10, Balm o' galea; (Qu. T13) Inf ID5, Balm of Gilead; (Qu. T16) Inf WV5, Balm of gillian. 1982 Smithsonian Letters

MM

WV, When

they were laying out the house old timers cautioned them had several stands of bammagilla trees on their land. "Ain't hardly none of them left no more." And they took pains to save a couple The name floored my daughter of bammagillas by the front porch who was a botany major in college. She remembered nothing in textbooks or labs about bammagillas. Eventually, after the trees leafed out, she determined that they are Balm of Gilead, a poplar. that they

.

.

.

b also balm of Gilead fir, balm of Gilead tree: =balsam fir; also the resin obtained from this tree. 1785 Marshall Arbustrum 102, Pinus-Abies Balsamea. Balm of Gilead Fir-Tree. 1803 Lambert Descr. Pinus 1.48, Balm of Gilead Fir. Pinus Habitat in Virginia, Canada. 1832 Browne Sylva 96. Balsamea This resin [of the silver fir] is sold in Europe and the United States under the name of Balm of Gilead. 1902 (1968) Clapin Americanisms 35, Balsam Fir The tree itself is also known as Balm of Gilead, in imitation of the Eastern terebinth. 1945 (1946) MacDonald Egg & I 264, We parked the truck under a large Balm of Gilead tree near the .

.

.

.

.

.

restaurant.

A

salve

exudation of the balm of Gilead tree Mainly among Negroes. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Balm of Gilead ... A salve made from the buds of the tree. 1968 DARE File seMA, Balm of gilead from buds off the myrrh tree or American balsam; put with rum, it forms jelly, and is used for cuts and bruises. 1969 DARE (Qu. BB50c) Inf KYI 9, [baemte'gilia] a black salve. 1975 Mountain Eagle (Whitesburg KY) 26 June B3. She recommended some of her "bam-of-Gilly" salve. .

.

.

—

—

4 also balm for Gilead: Money. 1895 DN 1.384 TN [Black], Balm of Gilead: slangy [sic] for money. cl970 Halpert Coll. wKY, Balm for Gilead money. Negro, illiterate.

—

5 See quot. 1906 DN 3.125 nwAR, Balm of Gilead.

"You can

—

.

they

may

.

.

designate

it

Bam — a

simply as

.

.

corruption, presumably, of

—

Balm. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 7 Pacific NW, Balm A Cottonwood tree. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. T12) Infs MHO, 27, Balm; OR5. Balm tree. 1980 DARE File cwOR, We don't say [bam] but ['baem.tri] here.

balmy See balm baloney See bologna balooey n [Blend of baloney + hooey] Nonsense. 1 967 - 69 DARE (Qu. NN 3, When you think that the thing somebody1

has just said is silly or untrue: "Oh, that 's a TX74. Balooey [bVlui].

tbalore adj Cf aglore and Galore; in abundance. 1968 DARE (Qu. LL9b, Balore

.

.

DS LL9a,

lot

") Infs

of

MO

1

8,

b

"She's got clothes

Inf

")

NC55,

[ba'lor].

balsam n 1 =balsam

poplar, chiefly Nth 1785 Marshall Arbustrum 107, Populus balsamifera. Balsam. 1927 Keeler Our Native Trees 422, Balsam Populus balsamifera. 1931 Otis MI Trees 87. Balsam. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T12) 23 Infs, chiefly Nth, Balsam; (Qu. T 1 3) WI22, Balsam; (Qu. T 1 5) 1 1 Infs, NY, WI, .

.

ML

Balsam.

2 sometimes with a qualifier: =jewelweed. 1840 Zool. & Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 76, Ifmpatiensj Balsamina Balsam. 1848 Gray Manual of Botany 76, Impatiens Balsam. 1891 Jesup Plants Hanover Bal8, Impatiens sam. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 200. /. aurea Wild balsam. Pale Balsam-weed. Ibid20l,I. biflora .. Balsam-weed. Wild Balsam. 1936 IL Nat. Hist. Surv. Wild/lowers 191, Impatiens biflora also called Wild Balsam. 1968 DARE (Qu. S26b) Inf VA1 1, Touch-me-not = balsam. 1970 Correll Plants TX 1008, Impatiens Balsam. 1973 Hitchcock- Cronquist Flora Pacific 290, Orange balsam Ifmpa-

MA

made from the buds of the balm of Gilead 2. 1946 PADS 6.5 eNC, Bamly Gillyard salve ... A salve made from the

3

.

get

Balm of Gilead over

in

.

.

NH .

.

Illicitly distilled

whiskey.

Newton County."

.

.

.

.

.

.

tiensj capensis.

3 often with a qualifier: A cudweed 1, usu Gnaphalium obtusifolium (formerly G. polycephalum). 1873 in 1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 132. Balsam, Sweet— Gnaphalium polycephalum White Balsam Old Field Balsam. 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.98 NEng, Gnaphalium polycephalum old field balsam. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.92 NY, Balsam. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 176, Gnaphalium obtusifolium Sweet Balsam, Field or White Balsam, Old-field Balsam Balsam-weed. 1916 Torreya 16.240 VA, Gnaphalium sp. Field balsam. 1968 DARE (Qu. S26d) Inf DE3, Old-field .

.

.

.

.

.

=California laurel. 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 373, This tree is known in different localities by a variety of names, such as "balm of heaven," and "California laurel." 1900 Lyons Plant Names 383, U. Califor-

.

.

NW

.

balm of heaven n

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

balsam

.

.

.

— — white, something

like

ageratum.

4 =cypress spurge. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.98 NY, Euphorbia Cyparissias

[sic]

.

.

balsam.

.

balsam

bell

balunst

/

142

5 Any of several firs, as alpine fir, balsam fir, she-balsam, or white fir. Balsam (N.C., 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 50, Abies fraseri Balsam (Vt., N.H., N.Y.). Ibid 53, Abies Abies balsamea S.C.) Balsam (N. Mex., Colo., Utah, Idaho. Oreg.). Ibid 55, lasiocarpa Balsam (Cal.). 1916 Sudworth Spruce & Balsam Fir Abies concolor 17, It seems probable that trees of this group [Abies spp.] were given the popular names "balsam" and "balsam fir" because of the liquid resin which is obtained from the pockets of some species for medicinal and mechanical purposes. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T5) 65 Infs. chiefly NEng, Gt Lakes, Balsam; (Qu. T17) 9 Infs, Gt Lakes, S Midi, Balsam. 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 34, Abies balsamea Other Common Names balsam. Ibid 35, Abies fraseri .. balsam .. Abies lasio.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

balsam

A

n [From the

bell

bead

DARE

Balsamorhiza

.

.

.

balsam spruce See balsam

Venison having a very gamey 1969 DARE Tape WI77, they had a stronger taste steaks

used to shoot 'em [=deer] in the woods, sometimes you used to call 'em balsam thev'd be so strong. [FW:] So that's from eating balsam? [Inf:]

.

.

.

b

.

fir

1

1847 Wood Class-Book 516, AfbiesJ balsamea .. Balsam 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 50, Abies fraseri Common Names ... Balsam Fir (N.C., S.C). Ibid Abies 51, balsamea Balsam Fir (N.H., Vt., Mass.. R.I., N.Y., Pa., W.Va., Wis., Mich., Minn., Nebr., Ohio, Ibid 55, Abies concolor Balsam Fir ). (Cal.. Idaho, Colo.). 1916 [see balsam 5]. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T5) Infs MN14, NC48, Balsam fir; (Qu. T12) InfOH52, Balsam pine: (Qu. T17) Inf IA13, Balsam fir; MN38, Balsam pine. 1979 Little Checklist Balsam fir. Ibid 34, Abies concoU.S. Trees 33, Abies balsamea lor .. Balsam fir Abies fraseri Balsam fir. Ibid 35, Abies lasiocarpa Balsam fir. tains.

spruce.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

the shape of the

fruit]

Balsam c

1961 Wills-Irwin Flowers 7T218. Balsam Gourd

is

found

in thickets,

Tree.

of various firs: see quots. 1822 Eaton Botany 391, Pinus balsamea .

(

899)

1

.

.

.

.

.

with

places

at

fir tree,

balsam

tree.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

balsamweed n 1

=jewelweed.

1822 Eaton Botany 317, Impatiens balsamina (balsam weed. ). 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 7, Balsam weed, Jewel weed, Impatiens pallida. 1900 Lyons Plant Ibid 182, Impatiens balsamifera, Balsam weed. BalPale Balsam-weed; /. biflora Names 200. IfmpatiensJ aurea sam-weed. .

2

A

cudweed

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

Baltimore, Baltimore bird See Baltimore oriole

Baltimore buckeye See bugeye n 2 Baltimore hangnest See Baltimore oriole Baltimore

sweet balsam 2, sweet bud, sweet poplar, tacamahac [1786 J. Abercrombie /I rra«gw?. in Gard. Assist. 32/1 (DA), Tacamahacca, or great balsam poplar.] 1819 D. Thomas Travels 93 (DA), The true balsam poplar differs greatly in the leaf [from Populus angulata].

Wood Class-Book 506, The balsam poplar, though nowhere abun-

is found in woods and fields, disseminated throughout N[ew] England and Canada. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 1 30, Populus Balsam Poplar (N.H., Vt., Nebr., Common Names balsamifera Minn.). 1946 Stanwell - Fletcher Driftwood 178, It's [=dugout canoe] from the trunk of a huge balsam poplar. thirtv feet long and is made 1966-69 DARE (Qu. T12) Inf ME8, Balsam poplar; NY209, Balsam popple. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 206, Populus balsamCommon Names: poplar balsam, tacamahac poplar, tackaifera mahac.

dant,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Oregon alder, balsam tree, rhodoOregon ash. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 53, Abies lasiocarpa Oregon Balsam Tree (Cal.). Ibid 55, Abies concolor Balsam Tree (Idaho). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 7, A. balMountain Balsam-tree. samea Balsam tree A. Fraseri

termixed dendron,

fir

balsam poplar n Also balsam popple, poplar balsam An American poplar (Populus balsamifera) with fragrant, resincovered buds. Also called balm of Gilead 2a, balm tree, balsam 1, Carolina poplar 2, cottonwood, hackmatack, popple,

.

.

.

balsam pine See balsam

.

.

1

.

=pignut. 1785 Marshall Arbustrum 68, Juglans alba odorata. Balsam Hickery of the [sic]. 1815 Drake Natural View Cincinnati 2.80, Forest trees Miami country [include] Balsam hickory.

.

.

Wyeth Corresp. & Jrls. 59 OR, On the highest point we had snow accompanied with heavy thunder and being out of meat fed upon the inner bark of the Balsam trees. 1874 Glisan Jrl. Army Life 480, Thus the Coast Range [of Oregon] is covered with evergreen forests in1832

1889 Century Did., Balsam-weed, a name of the common everlastBalings. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 176, GfnaphaliumJ obtusifolium sam Weed.

fences.

balsam hickory n obs

.

of the same size and with balsam of Tolu.

Any

.

(here: lberxillea lindheimeri).

open woods, and on

.

15, Balsam-tree,

in England, yields the true

.

.

.

=wild balsam

as:

A balsam poplar, or similar poplar. 1785 Marshall Arbustrum 107, Populus balsamifera. Balsam, or Tacamahac-Tree. Ibid 108, Populus balsamifera lanceolata. Lance-leaved

.

balsam gourd n [Prob from the fragrance and

1847

.

of var trees which produce balsam

n Also balsam pine, ~ spruce Cf fir balsam 1 firs of the genus Abies, but esp A. balsamea which is also called balm of Gilead 2b, balsam 5, balsam tree c, blister pine, Canada balsam, fir balsam 1, silver fir, single spruce. 1804 (1905) Lewis Orig. Ms. Lewis & Clark Exped 3.279. We Continue to put up the Streight butifull balsam pine on our houses. 1805 in 19 6 WI State Hist. Soc. Coll. 22.21 A, Saw pitch pine and balsom [sic] fer [sic] which grow verry tall on the Spring runs and Sides of the moun-

.

of var

.

taste.

We

a See quot. 1769 Stork Descr. East FL leaves like the sycamore tree

.

fir

balsam steak n joe

Any .

Any

NW

Balsamroot.

1933 Small Manual SE Flora 296, C. borealis Balsam-bell. 1949 Moldenke/lw^r. Wild Flowers 333, A great favorite in the northeastern part of our area is the balsambell or blue beadlily.

balsam

OR

439. West of Beatty are sagebrush hills on which the black and yellow balsam root blooms in early spring. 1967 (Qu. S26a) Inf WY1, Balsamroot. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific 495,

balsam tree n

shape of the blossom]

bell-like

(here: Clintonia borealis).

lily

a genus of low, coarse, perennial compos1940 Writers' Program Ml. Hood

[sic],

plants, allied to the sunflower.

Yeah.

balsam.

.

ite

.

—

carpa

species ofBalsamorrhiza

.

balsamroot n

A plant of the western genus Balsamorhiza.

For other names of var spp see big root 2, breadroot 3, graydock, sunflower 1889 Century Diet., Balsam-root ... A name given in California to

minnow n

See quot 1956. 1956 Progress (Charlottesville VA) 14 Jun 9/5 (Hench Coll.), Baltimore minnows (German carp fry) as bait are prohibited. 1969 DARE (Qu. P7) Inf GA72, Baltimore minners [sic].

Baltimore oriole n Also Baltimore,

A common

~

~

bird,

hangnest

oriole (Icterus galbula), colored chiefly black

and

orange in the male and chiefly olive and yellow in the female, which builds a hanging nest. Also called basket bird, English robin, firebird, golden oriole, golden robin, goldfinch, hammockbird, hangbird, hangnest, pea-bird, redbird, weaver bird with a few exceptions build 1808 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 1.25, Orioles .

pensile nests.

tion of these

.

Few of them, however, equal the Baltimore in the construcreceptacles for their young. 1844 Giraud Birds Long Is.

1917 (1923) Birds Baltimore Bird. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 556, Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula Baltimore bird. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. Ql 1) Inf MD26, Baltimore oriole; (Qu. Q14) Infs NH5, PA121, 128, 147, 155, WI8, Baltimore oriole. 142, Icterus Baltimore. .Baltimore hang-nest.

Amer. 2.258, Baltimore

oriole Icterus galbula

.

.

.

balunst v Pronc-sp for balance 1940

Sat. Eve. Post

23

gatepost to sing before.

Nov

.

+ excr t

101/2 sGA, Never had to balunst on no

.

'Bam

143

'Bam See Alabama A

you

ba'm See balm

of your ma. 1916 D.X 4.340 OH, Bamfoozle not heard. 1 950 \\ ELS ("It 's easy enough to

in the place

boozle.

which

him."j

1

is

'Bama See Alabama A

Sayward might be bamfoozled a

'Bama chukker See Alabama B2

(Qu.

bam-

1950 (1965) Richter Town 152 OH, but not beat out. 1966 - 68 DARE

swWI, Bamfuzzle.

Inf.

banana

/

little

") KK36, A person who is easily fooled: "It's easy to C07, FL38. IA9. MT2, Bamfoozie him: NV93. Bamboodle him: (Qu. GG2, Confused, mixed up) Inf FL2. Bamfuzzled. 2 To damn used as a mild oath. ") Inf CA8, Bam"Well, I'll be 1967 DARE (Qu. NN25, .

.

Infs

bambache

A

n Also sp bamboche

social gathering at

[Fr

which there

is

bamboche

spree]

.

considerable drinking; a

drinking spree. 1944 Kane Deep Delta Country 247 LA, Sometimes he was to be found at the "bamboches," gatherings of the men for gay evenings of yarn-spinning. These were meetings about large tables, on which sat pitchers of wine. 1945 Saxon Gumbo Ya-Ya 203 sLA, Occasionally a Cajun will go on 'one beeg Bambache,' a drinking spree. Ibid 204, 'We stay in town maybe Friday, maybe Saturday, maybe Sunday. Those bambache is bad. Me, I always have head like one big barrel.' .

.

bamberry n [Prob folk-etym

alter

of Fr bain-marie, double

boiler]

1971 Today Show Letters seNY (as of 1930s). Bamberry keeping food warm in the kitchen.

bamboche See bambache bamboo n Cf wild bamboo Usu with a qualifier: any of various

.

.

device for

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bamma n Also sp bah-ma A grandmother. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. Z4)

2a, 3

See also bampa, bapa Inf

bamma

PA220, Gramma,

['bama];

GA57A. Bah-ma. bammagilla See balm of Gilead 2a

bammy

adj See

balm

Alabama

See

A

bamoose bampa n

See vamoose n

Also sp bampaw, bampi

Cfbapa

A grandfather. 1969

some

Z3) Inf CA 170. Bampi, grampa: M032. Bampaw— 1982 DARE File. My husband has always referred to his

DARE(Qu. say this.

Missouri grandfather as

'Bamy See Alabama

bampa

['bEem.pa].

A

"Bamboo".

ba'my See balm

bamboo brier n Pronc-sp bramboo ~ Any of various greenbriers.

banana n Usu

1728 (1922) Byrd Descr. Dismal 18 VA, NC, The skirts of the Dismal towards the east were overgrown with reeds ten or 1 2 feet high, interlaced everywhere with strong bamboe-bryers, in which the men's feet were perpetually intangled. 1840 (1847) Longstreet GA Scenes 74, This came over me like a rake of bamboo briers. 1872 (1973) Thompson Major Jones's Courtship 165 GA, They would be left hangin by ther whiskers in the bamboo briars, like so many Absaloms of old. 1945 Democrat 4 Jan 2/2 (DA) AL, His progress was slowed up by a multitude of bamboo briers. 1950 PADS 14.16 SC, Bramboo briar The bamboo briar. 1975 Newell IfNothin'Don Happen 100 nwFL, Unless a feller has been through the middle of that swamp, he just don't know what a real rough, bad place is like Every tree is hung with bamboo .

bamly Gillyard See balm of Gilead

.

.

SfmilaxJ laurifolia

.

bam-of-Gilly See balm of Gilead 3 greenbriers.

.

.

.

foozled.

bammy-gilly-um See balm of Gilead 2a

.

.

—

'Bammy n

a 1709 (1967) Lawson Carolina 101 (DA), The small Bamboo is certain Vine, growing in low Land. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 446. Bay-Leaf Bamboo. 1927 Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Smilax laurifolia Proc. 230, Smilax laurifolia 'Black bamboo' Smilax Walteri 'Red bamboo'. 1934 Natl. Geog. Mag. 65.602/1 seGA, The "hoorah bushes," and other shrubs are interlaced with the thorny vines of "bamboo" or smilax. 1950 Gray-Fernald Manual of Botany 450. .

.

.

.

.

.

't

.

.

.

briar.

Ibs'nasnal,

occas Iba'naeni. ba'naena and aphet Pronc-spp bannanner, 'nan1

-!

I'naen^, 'naensl.lessfreq Ip^'neenal

ner

A

Forms.

1867 Twain Jumping Frog 19 CA, A yaller one-eyed cow that didn't have no tail, only jest a short stump like a bannanner. 1891 1.121 cNY, [ba'naeni].' 1929 Sat. Eve. Post 17 Aug 136/2 Missip Valley, I b'lieve I'm gonter go up and git me a dozen 'nanners and set down and eat myse'f a bait. 1941 AmSp 16.8 eTX [Black], Banana, ['nana]. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 11 wNC, eTN, Banana [ba'naeni], ['naenar-]. 1966-67 DARE FW Addit swNC, Bananas [par-'nasnaz] common among older folks. 1967 DARE (Qu. 153) Inf HI1 1, [ba'naena-z].

DS

—

B

[From the fruit, which resembles a stubby banana] also American banana, Arkansas ~, custard ~, dog ~ false ~, Hoosier ~ Kansas ~, Missouri ~ wild ~: A pawpaw 1 chiefly mid Missip Valley Paw1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 200, Common Sames paw Banana (Ark.). False Banana (111.). 1901 Morris Life on Stage Senses.

1

bamboodle See bamfoozle

bamboo vine n Any of several greenbriers (Smilax

.

Also called bamboo,

spp).

bamboo brier, blaspheme vine, China brier 1853 Hammett Stray Yankee in TX22, [I aided]

1

rude attempts at

his

road-making whenever a mass of bullbrier or bamboo- vines called for action. 1897 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 10.145, Smilax Bona-nox bamboo vine. 1950 PADS 14.74 FL, Bamboo vine The smilax, the tender tips of which are cooked and eaten for greens. cl960 H 'ilson Coll. csKY, Bamboo-vine (ox brier): Sawbrier, wild smilax, cat brier. "I tore my pants on a bamboo vine." 1960 Vines Trees 76, Smilax lanceolata Also known under the vernacular names of Bamboo-vine. Ibid 77, Smilax auriculata Vernacular names are Bamboo-vine. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

SW

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

3

.

v]

swIL, But never could

I

acquire a taste for the 'paw-paw,' that inane

American banana. 1917 (1923) Rogers Trees Worth Knowing 169, This "wild banana tree" is the favorite fruit tree of the negroes in the Black Belt. 1921 Deam Trees IS 161, Pawpaw Recently some enthusiasts have christened it the "Hoosier Banana". 1931 KC. Star 9 Oct. (DA), Pawpaws, known also as the Kansas banana, and persimmons are ripening already, before the first frost. 1931 KC. Times 16 Oct. (DA), Coming from Kansas, Mr. Garvin is not expected to have a taste for the Missouri bananas. 1950 Moore Trees AR 73. Pawpaw Local Names: Custard Apple, Arkansas Banana. 1950 Peattie Sat. Hist. Trees 287, Pawpaw Other Names: Wild Banana. 1955 5. Folkl. Qrly. 19.235, Small animals devour the fruit of the Dog Banana (Asimina augustifolia). 1960 Vines Trees 291, Asimina parviflora Vernacular names are Small-fruited Pawpaw. Small Custard-apple, and Custard-banana. 1967 DARE (Qu. 146) Inf M07, Pawpaw same as Missouri banana. .

.

.

a hasty departure. 1969 DARE (Qu. Y18, "Before they find this ") Inf NC76, Take off, bamboozle, get outa .

bambushka

.

out,

we'd better

here.

See babushka

bamfoozle v Also bamboodle, bamfuzzle; also bamfoozling vbl n, bamfoozled, bamfuzzled ppl adj [Varr of bamboozle (OED 1 703 )] Cf bumfuzzle and DS KK36

—

1

To

.

.

To make

deceive, confuse.

[1842 in 1947 AmSp 22.127, "The American Dialect of Charles Dickens" [includes] Bamfoozling] 1911 Porter Harvester 470 IN, Bamfoozle all the rest of them as much as you please, lad, but I stand to

.

custard-like fruit, often called the

.

ibamboozle v [Perh by confusion with vamoose

.

.

.

.

SW

.

.

.

—

2

The

fruit

of a yucca (here: Yucca aloifolia).

Cf Mexican

banana 1900 Lyons Plant Sames 401. Y. aloifolia Fruit succulent, edible, banana. 1901 Lounsberry 5. Wild Flowers 56, By the negroes and many whites as well, the sweet, fleshy fruits of the yucca are eaten and which, from a similarity in their shape, they call bananas. .

locally called

3 See banana fish. 4 See banana melon.

.

.

-

5

banana

belt

banana

/

144

waterlily

banana belt n NW, esp AK 1 The warmer parts of a region which

regarded as severely

cold.

1898 Century

Illustr.

Mag. 56.840/1, The

MS59, White banana pepper; (Qu. I22d, Large sweet) 19 Infs, Missip Valley, Banana peppers; LA2, Called banana pepper in the store —same as wax pepper; NC81, Banana peppers yellow and long, a little hot; TN26. Banana peppers tolerable long yellow pepper. yellow;

is

glittering prospectuses that

.

.

chiefly

—

—

used to invite the world to come to the 'banana belt' of the Dakotas are 1959 Hart McKay's AK 29, circulated by the millions. not now Banana belt: Words used to describe the "tropical" areas of Alaska, notably the warmer southeastern region with its lush forests, heavy undergrowth, rapid-growing vegetation, and moist climate. 1973 TabI've seen it applied both to the Anchorage berl Coll. AK, Banana belt .

.

.

.

.

area and to southeastern Alaska.

2 Transf: see quot.

1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Banana ... An open winter, softer weather than usual.

An

belt ...

easy

show

banana cantaloupe See banana melon banana

fish

=bonefish

n Also banana

[See quot 1979]

1.

1896 U.S. Natl.

Museum

A

and

BananaAlbula vulpes little valued as food. 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 88, Banana-fish ... As a game1968 DARE (Qu. fish it is highly appreciated by those familiar with it. P4) Inf LA37, Banana fish. This is the same fish called skipjack in south Texas, horse mackerel farther north and east in Texas. (May be the same 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 379, Boneas ladyfish in Florida.) Common Names: Bonefish, ratfish, banana. 1979 Hallowell fish People Bayou 1 39 sLA, There were dead, leathery banana fish shaped uncannily like banana peels. fish ...

.

.

beautiful

Bulletin 47.41

1,

.

.

.

most places

active fish, in

.

banana

See banana waterlily

lily

banana melon n Also banana, ~ cantaloupe, ~ muskmelon A long slender muskmelon with pale orange flesh and a slightly ribbed rind. 1941 Faherty Big Old Sun 54 (Hench Coll.), She brought from the house a scrawny dried banana melon, long and yellow. 1949 Natl. Geog. Mag. 96.198/1, Such odd varieties as the elongated Banana should not be called "cantaloupes." 1950 WELS 1 Inf, swWI, Banana melons and taste much like a mushmelon except they grow long and slender have a flavor of bananas. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Banana melon .

.

—

.

.

1965-70 DARE (Qu. 126) 14 Infs, Banana melons; IN35, Banana mushmelons; FL23, M032,

hardly a foot long, favors a banana. chiefly Sth,

Banana cantaloupes.

An

fruit peddlers]

1969 DARE (Qu. HH28) Inf CA 166, Dago, wop, banana pushers. other 1970 Tarpley Blinky 250 neTX, Nicknames for Italian people spaghetti eaters. responses [include] banana peddlers, .

.

.

.

.

banana peel n Also banana peeling

To be severely ill or very old, slipping toward death. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB54, When a sick person is past hope of recovery) Inf TX98, Got one foot on a banana peelin' and the other one in the grave; UT7, He's on a banana peeling; WI47, One foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel; (Qu. HH40, Uncomplimentary wordsfor an old man) Inf OK48, He's got one foot on a banana peel and the other in a grave; (Qu. X48b, Not so young any more) Inf MI 120, Got one foot in the grave, the other on a banana peeling; LA37, One foot on a banana peel and the other in the grave. 2 Transf: to fall on hard times, experience bad luck. 1967 DARE (Qu.CC 12a, Bad luck) Inf CM, One foot on [a] banana 1

.

.

.

.

peel, the other in the grave.

banana pepper n widely

DARE (Qu.

West See Map

scattered exc NEast,

A banana-shaped pepper,

out.

the fragrance]

An

evergreen shrub (Micheliafigo) planted as an ornamental in the southern US. 1968 Patriot- Tribune (Glenmora-Lecompte LA) 5 Feb 5/4, 1 have in mind some more pretty ornamentals, which have been growing well in our area The Magnolia family Banana shrub (Michelia Fuscata) is a pretty evergreen, large shrub with brownish yellow flowers, inconspicuous but with a delicious banana fragrance. 1976 Bailey Third [Michelia] Figo ... Banana Bailey Hortus 731, shrub Fl[ower]s with banana fragrance to 1 h in. across. China. 1

.

.

—

.

—

usu yellow. .

.

—

Large hot) 37 Infs, widely scattered built like a exc NEast, West, Banana peppers; CT2, Banana peppers thicker than a finger; banana; hot, long ones; GA85, Banana peppers long, yellow, not too hot; IL1 17, Hot banana IL41, Banana peppers hots; OK43, Banana peppers are sometimes peppers; KY28, Banana Small sweet) 1 sweet; long but pretty thin, fairly small; (Qu. I22c, green and Infs, esp Sth, Banana peppers; ALU, Banana peppers red; (Qu. I22b,

— —

.

.

.

.

.

banana slug n [From

the shape

and

color]

relatively large, bright yellow or orange slug (Ariolimax columbianus). photographing an oxalis 1964 Natl. Geog. Mag. 126.20 CA, I was a so-called banana slug, bright-orange and as cluster when I spotted long but not quite as thick as its namesake. Common in the humid feeds on plant tissue, leaving a path of redwood forest, this creature glistening slime as it inches along. 1977 Hanify-Blencowe Guide to Hoh [27] wWA, Banana Slugs are double-sexed, having both male and female reproductive parts. 1982 Heat Moon Blue Highways 2 1 9 csOR, I poked about the woods and turned up a piece of crawling yellow jelly nearly the length of my hand. It was a banana slug, so named because the mollusk looks like a wet, squirming banana. 1982 DARE File nCA, In the woods of Marin County, banana slugs are often found under damp leaves and forest duff. They vary in color from dull to bright yellow. .

.

banana

split

.

—

—

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

See banana ring

banana squash n

An

elongated, cultivated squash. 1950 WELS (Kinds ofsquash) 10 Infs, WI, Banana squash. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 123) 100 Infs, chiefly West, Upper MW, N Cent, Banana squash.

banana tree n [From

I22a, Different kinds of peppers— small hot) S Midi, Banana pepper; AL6, Banana pepper shaped

banana and

any which he knocks

banana shrub n [From

.

Std sense, in phr have one foot on a banana peel and varr:

like a

split

marbles game: see second quot. 1968 DARE (Qu. EE7) Inf LA43, Banana split. 1968 DARE Tape LA46, Banana ring ... A marble game in which each player places one marble in the mud; collectively, the marbles form a banana shape. Each player has a turn to shoot at the marbles in the banana ring, and keeps

A

derog

Italian.

1965-70

banana

ring n Also

A

x

immigrants as

14 Infs, esp Sth,

banana

.

banana peddler n Also banana pusher [Refto the stereotype of Italian

banana pusher See banana peddler

the appearance of the beans]

=catalpa Bl. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. T9)

banana

waterlily

Infs IL41,

PA1

n Also banana

lily

1

1,

Banana

[From

tree.

its

banana-like

tubers]

A

yellow-flowered water lily 1 (here: Nymphaea mexicana) found from eastern Texas to Florida. Also called duckpond lily, Florida waterlily, herbe au coeur, sun lotus 1926 La. Dept. of Conservation Rep. 1924-26 144 (DA), Duckweeds,

banana wiggler

145

most important. 1933 TorBanana, Florida, or yellow waterhas 1951 Martin Amer. Wildlife & Plants 45 Banana waterlily lily. demonstrated much value for ducks ... Its rootstocks. banana-like 1954 Sprunt FL Bird tubers, and seeds have been eaten extensively. Life 11, Other vegetable foods, of course, constitute its [=the canvasback's] diet, among them ... the banana water lily (Castalia flava). has yellow 1961 Wills -Irwin Flowers 7X115, The Banana Water-lily flowers and occurs in scattered localities in the eastern half of Texas. Water-lily, Yellow LA Brown Wild/lowers 49, 1972 Ponds and lakes. Flowers 3 to 5 inches wide Banana-lily leafy

pondweed and banana

waterlily are

reya 33.83, Castalia mexicana

.

.

.

1

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A worm

used as bait in

DARE (Qu.

1969

its

(

.

fishing.

.

.

bandanna daisy n [From

southwestern yucca (Yucca baccata) which produces edible, fruits. Also called amole 1 b, datil, Mexican banana, soap plant, Spanish bayonet often 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. B157, The datil, called banana yucca, is similar ... Its somewhat banana-like fruits have 53, a sweet, edible pulp surrounding the seeds. 1960 Vines Trees The fruit is eaten raw, Vernacular names are Banana Yucca [etc.] 1976 Dodge Roadside Wild/lowers 2, Banana dried, or roasted. Yucca ... is widespread throughout the Southwest and elevations from .

.

SW

.

.

SW

An area of land in a river cut off by changes in the river's course. 1888 Congressional Record 23 Sept 8937/1 TX, Sometimes the stream and a tract or "banco" of a suddenly cut a new channel, hundred acres will be found to be on the other side of the river. Ibid, Some bancos increase by deposit; some wear away till they are entirely swept off. 1940 Fergusson Our Southwest 64 TX, The erratic habits of the Rio Grande and the Colorado, which are always cutting bancos off one country and delivering them to the other, necessitate constant will

.

.

.

.

adjustments. 1

A

swaddling band. 1981 High Coll. ceKY (as of c 1930), When I started having children, ever old woman around fussed at me for not putting bands on my babies.

West See

,

herd or flock of range animals, spec a flock of about two thousand sheep. 1824 Keating Narrative 395 (DA), The term band, as applied to a herd of buffalo, has almost become technical, being the only one in use in the 1903 (1965) Adams Log Cowboy49 NM, After following this trail about three miles. I sighted the band of cattle. 1929 AmSp5.61 NE, He also speaks of a number of grouped horses as a "band." 1967 DARE (QR, near p74) Inf NV1, Ten thousand head of sheep divided into "bands" of twenty-five hundred. 1967 DARE Tape OR18, Band of 2000-2200 sheep; OR1 1, Band of about 2200 sheep. 1970 DARE File nIA, Band (of sheep)— a flock. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West,

west.

.

.

.

.

.

band n 3 [Etym

.

.

While the word usually referred to horses, applied to other animals and to men. .

uncertain, but see quot 1960]

it

was sometimes

A woman. 1934AmSp9.26

MD [Prison parlance; Black], Band. A woman.

1960

Wentworth - Flexner Slang, Band ... A woman. Some Segro use. Prob from "bantam. " 1970 Major Afro- Amer. Slang, Band: a woman. 1

with up: To bandage. 1917 DA' 4.407 wNC, Banded up Bandaged. "I was banded up for about three weeks." 1934 W2. Band ... To bandage, often with up. 1

.

2

To

.

.

—

animal by means of a rubber band. new term (Qu. K70) Inf AL2, Band use rubber

castrate an

—

—

1966-70 DARE band when they [=the animals] are small; MN2, Banding, give 'em the elastic (what most of the farmers use); TN58, Castrate (with a knife). band (with a rubber band).

band v

2

Also band up

To form

.

Blanket-flowers.

.

rattler

1823 James Acct. ofExped. 1.267, Crotalus horridus Banded rattle1944 MA Audubon Soc. Bulletin 8.262 NC, The eight species of poisonous snakes found in the region under discussion are coral snake, massasauga, pigmy, copperhead, water moccasin, and five rattlers diamond-back, banded, and canebrake rattlesnakes. 1949 Dickinson Lizards & Snakes WI 60, Timber or Banded Rattler Still fairlycommon west of the Wisconsin River. .

.

snake.

—

.

.

.

bander-shank See bandy-shanked bandido n [Span] SW An outlaw, esp one of Mexican origin. [1898 Lummis Awakening 4 Mexico, By every into the very heart of cities

Dobie

I

'aquero 60

country road — even — the bandido robbed and murdered.] 1929

TX, One

[band n

into a herd or flock.

2 ]

West

issue

.

.

reported the following items from

1968 Adams Western Words, Bandido Used near the Mexican border to refer to a Mexican outlaw. Bandit is the more common word for an American outlaw.

the lower country, .

.

all

pertaining to bandidos.

.

bandit n [From the mask-like

facial

Infs IL27,

markings]

TX32, Bandit.

iband rubber n [Reversed compound; Changes" 1.1]

see Intro

"Language

rubber band.

1968

DARE (Qu.

F49) Inf IL29, Band rubber.

band-tailed pigeon n Also band-tail pigeon

A

wild western pigeon (Columba fasciataj marked with a dark tail. Also called blue pigeon, blue rock, mountain pigeon, passenger pigeon, white-collared pigeon, wild pigeon 1823 James Acct. ofExped. 2.10, This species may be distinguished by the name of band-tailed pigeon. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 2.38, Band-tailed pigeon. 1969-70 DARE (Qu. Q7) Inf CA130, Band-tail

band on the

.

.

CA78. Band-tailed pigeon.

pigeon:

bandudelums n bending

pi |,baen'dud3bmz|

For varr see quots RI Cf

ice

DARE

salt

water.

Bandaduwas used by youngsters about 50 years ago. In the winter, when the ice was thin between Long Wharf and the Newport Yacht Club, those who dared run across it, with the ice quaking under their feet, were said to be running "bandadudeums." 1968 DARE File seRI, Bandudelums [,baen'du:d3bmz]. also bendudelums I use to use that word 45 years ago and use to run bandudelums near shore where they would touch bottom also I tried to push one down under the next one with a stick. 1969 DARE (Qu. B35. Ice that will bend when you step on it, but not break) Inf RI1A. The ice has bendudelums. 1968

deums

.

.

File

seRI

1957

a

[in

news

clipping],

large pieces of floating ice in salt water ...

It

—

—

band up v phr

US

Local,

.

-ed pret suff 1

Large pieces of broken ice in

among Black

speakers

band v

Flora 1461, Gaillardia

=timber rattlesnake.

A

band v 2 drop band

also

A

.

SE

=raccoon. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. P31)

chiefly

flower]

bandge. bandgeing place See bange

feet.

banco n [Span]

band n 2

mixed colors of the

the

=gaillardia.

banded rattlesnake n Also banded

somewhat bananalike

Band

.

together.

banded See

P6) Inf GA77.

A

band n

.

.

Fire-wheels. Bandana-daisies.

banana yucca n

3,000 to 8,000

1

band means to assemble cattle, sheep, into vast flocks. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 160 West, The single animal or a small bunch were referred to as "strays"; but when a large number were "banded up," as long as they stayed together the group was 1977 Watts Diet. Old West, To band, to herd said to be a "drift." prairie parlance, to

.

appearance]

.

bandy

1878 Taylor Between the Gates 266 CA, I leave him to "band" his sheep and herd his bees as he pleases. 1902 968) Clapin Americanisms 36. In

1933 Small Manual

banana wiggler n [From

/

1

See band v

1

1

band up v phr2 See band v 2 bandy n

A

1

[Prob alter of banter n

stunt or feat; in phr

do

1]

chiefly

KS

(one) bandies: to perform or out-per-

form another

at such a feat. 1914 AY4. 105 KS, Do bandies "You can't do me any bandies; I'll climb the tower that you clum." 1916 AY 4.3 19 KS, Philadelphia PA. Bandies Feats of agility or strength: used by children. 1928 Rup.

.

.

]

bandy

banjo

/

146

to do bandies, to do (one) bandies chilpenthal Coll. KS, Bandies dren's term. To do something regarded as a physical feat; to do such and dare others to do the same or to excel. .

.

.

.

.

A prob Sth, S Midi

bandy-shanked

adj Pronc-sp bander-shank See also banty adj, gander-shanked

Bandy-legged; having crooked shanks or legs; also banjershanks used as a nickname: see quot 1930. 1908 DN 3.289 eAL, wGA, Bandy-shanked Having thin crooked shanks, bowlegged. 1930 Herald- Advt. (Huntington WV) 30 Nov KY, WV, A lad is usually "old man Jones' boy" instead of being his son. When he grows up, if very slender, [he] may bear the happy sobriquet "Banjer-Shanks." cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bandy-shanked. 1966-69 DARE(Qu. X37, Peoples' legs, if they're noticeably bent, or uneven, or not right) Inf SC24, Bander-shank don't walk exactly right; KY24, Bandy-shanked could be anything wrong with a leg or legs.

—

.

.

.

—

—

—

+ berry; OED 1755 poisonous plant of the genus Actaea; also its poisonous berries. Also called cohosh la, snakeberry, toadroot. For other names see red baneberry, white baneberry 1785 Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Memoirs for 1784 1.454, Actaea Baneberries The root is useful in some nervous cases. 1821 Amer. Jrl. Science 3.276, [Plainfield, Mass June ... 6. The

baneberry n [bane poison

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

redberried actea or baneberry

.

.

in flower.

[is]

.

1847

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Wood

Class-Book

.

baneberry flowers. 1966 DARE Wildfl QR PI. 62 InfOH14, Baneberry; P1.63b Inf NY91, Baneberry. 1969 DARE (Qu. S26c) Inf NY134, Baneberry. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific 125.

NW

2 =black snakeroot

1873

.

.

— to

MD, We

were not prepared for

Yankee phrase, "it bangs every thing." 1848 Bartlett Americanisms 22 OH, This bangs all things. 1855 (1940) Chambers Jrl. 104 MT, Of all the fools I have ever seen Faillant bangs all. 1872 Twain Roughing It 328 MO, If this don't bang anything that ever I saw, I'm an Injun! 1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 263, Ef dis don't bang my times! = to pass belief. 1978 AP Letters cGA, My mother, born in 1859 would hear of something quite unusual and say: "Well if that don't bang bob-tail!" Perhaps it was the equivalent of "Well, if that's .

use a sheer

.

1

2

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

'identification tag'.

Bangor

rule

n

Orig a device used in scaling logs; now fig: see quot. 1975 Gould ME Lingo 167, The first such rule [=log rule, used by sawyers to determine the number of board feet in a log] is said to be the figured out in Maine for old-growth stumpage, and in popular speech it has become a gauge of probity: if a man goes by the Bangor Rule in his daily affairs, he will be just and upright and can be

Bangor Rule,

trusted.

bang-spang See spang ibangy n 1967

DARE (Qu.

PA34. Bangy

bangy

N41c, Horse-drawn vehicles to carry a buggy without any top.

[baeni]

adj Also

—

light loads) Inf

banged

Bang's disease. 1966-68 DARE(Qu. K.28, Diseases that cows have around here) Inf OK43, We've got bangy cows here; (Qu. K47) Inf WV8, Fistula— get [it] .

cattle.

|baenj|

.

.

.

fre-

ME

advantage of another's hospitality; hence also vbl n bandgeing place, banging place. 1886 Jewett White Heron 9 ME, Squer'ls she'll tame to come an' feed idle about; to take

right out o' her

1890

hands

DN

1

.2

1

.

.

.

Last winter she got the jay-birds to bangeing ... "a pair of boots to bange

cME, Bange [bsenj]

in." 1897 Howells Landlord 187 MA, It'll interest him to go out and we can make him believe it's just to bange around for the winter. 1914 DN 4.68 ME, nNH, Bandge ... To idle, loaf. Bandgeing-

round there;

.

AmSp

horse or mule.

eWA, Horse. Here I bring together all the current hay baler, bangtail, banical ['baenakl], mustang. 1967 DARE Old Tape IA8, They hollered and said "get the mules down below" Smokey left his outfit up on top of this knob, a bunch of old banicals ['baenikalz], hide and hair was about all there was to 'em.

1958 terms

.

.

33.268

.

.

.

.

banio See banya

A lounging place, e.g. a country store. 1927/iw5p3.137ME,

"Bange" was employed in speaking of those who would come visiting and remain till their unwilling host was to be pitied. It was said that certain relatives or visitors would "bange" or make a "banging place" all summer, "sponging" idly, neither paying nor working.

bang ears v phr Cf ear banger and

DS JJ3a

To

curry favor. 1957 Battaglia Resp.

to the teacher in

banjer-shanks See bandy-shanked banjo n Usu |'baenjo|; in Sth, Midi freq I'baenjas 'baenp| Proncspp banger, banja, banjer, banjor, hunger [Intro from W. Africa in var forms prob ult < Port banza guitar] For hist development and addit spp see DA, DAE, DJE, Ethnomusicology 1 9.359 - 360

A

Forms.

gourd .

.

A broken-down

1

See beignet

v

.

Ban-go Number, hence a number ticket or identification tag. 1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 92 HI, Many of the simple and basic expressions are still in use bango 'number', hence .

to

PADS 20 (When a student tries to be extra nice

hopes ofgetting a better grade)

ears again.

banged See bangy

made of

banjor); a rude musical instrument,

Also sp bandge [Cf W3 bang vi 3 "to quent a place without definite purpose"] NEng, esp

place

1954-60 Hance

a job identification disk.

.

cl770 in 833 Boucher Glossary \\\\ MD, VA, A Bandore (pronounced

Shootin' bang.

here.

.

.

[Aphet form of shebang] A group or crowd. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. LL10, A whole group ofpeople: "They made too much noise, so he sent the whole home. ") Inf FL33, Bang; WI6,

To

Bango is the localism for Hawaiian Sugar, Bango

.

not the limit!"

bange

26.26 HI, Only the mainland visitor is startled to see this Honolulu pineapple cannery: 'Show Your Bango Here.'

banical n

1817 Niles' Natl. Reg. 18 Jan 337/1

bang n

AmSp

sign in a

?obs

beat, surpass.

bang n

identification tag.

1951

from banged

bang v

this

An

.

.

Baneberry.

To

bango n [Japanese bango number] HI

Of cattle: having

1.

1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 157, Cimicifuga racemosa

in

1932 Hanley Disks ceMA, Bangleberry.

]

Red Bane-berry White Bane-berry. A. alba 1887 Harper's Mag. 75.303/2, 1 jumped out to secure some tall stalk of 146, A. rubra

of dangleberry]

alter

large huckleberry.

.

.

.

1

banging place See bange bangleberry n [Prob

bandy n 2 See banty n

.

A

banger See banjo

adj

eMD, He's trying to bang

.

much

.

the shell of a large

1905 Culbertson Banjo Talks An' de banjer talks. 1936 AmSp 1

used by negroes.

Wen a picker gits ter pickin' /

SE,

1 1

.

1

59

[in] banjo. is usually [a] eTX, The vowel in the final syllable 1941 in 944 ADD eWV, Banja. 1942 Hall Smoky Ml. Speech 23 eTN, wNC, Banjo ['bseenj>]. 1951 Porter Ragged Roads 2 OK, I was not ready for I had to fetch my valise and "hunger." Ibid 43, 1 stored my things in town, which just about meant my banger. cl960 Wilson Coll. older people's almost universal, ['bsenj>] csKY, Banjo ['bsenja] pronunciation. 1963 Edwards Gravel 1 eTN (as of 1920s), You could .

.

.

.

.

1

—

sing

B

it

.

.

with a git-tar or a banjer.

Senses.

In railroading: a banjo-shaped railroad signal. 1895 Searcher 1.244/2, The block signal on our railways, conspicuous by reason of its height and color, is known among railway men, I am told, as "the banjo." The signal-master of one of the way stations on the proffered this bit Consolidated New York and Boston, via. Springfield old-style of information. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 332, Banjo banjo-shaped signal. 1977 Adams Lang. Railroader. 1

—

.

A

.

chiefly Nth, West Also called banjo A short-handled scoop shovel, 1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Banjo. especially one used for coal. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 332, Banjo Fireman's shovel. 1954 AmSp 29.273 NY, Banjo ... a kind of

2

rounded scoop or shovel,

idiot stick 1, Irish

—

—

,

banjo frog

147

DARE

Tape SD4A. 1967 shovel vaguely resembling a banjo. 1966 miner's term for a shovel. I have also used Addit ID, Banjo 1969 Sorden this term myself when working in the mines of Idaho.

—

DARE FW

— A number two shovel.

Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Banjo

1969

DARE (Qu. P2

GA77, Banjo

bank n

frog

1

,

Smallfrogs that sing or chirp loudly in spring) Inf

— good-sized

frog, rust color.

1

A

heap of potatoes or other vegetables covered with mulch and over this sometimes a shed, to preserve them during winter, chiefly Sth See Map See also bank v 2, cave n 1 1

and

earth,

1837 Wheeler Practical Treatise 202 SC, It appeared the slave was from a bank near the defendant's house. 1856 Davis Farm Bk. 1 2 AL (DA), The Bank of cut potatoes was first used up but the cook failed to get all a few were left covered up in dirt. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. 19, A place for keeping carrots, turnips, potatoes and so on over the winter) 44 Infs, chiefly Sth, Potato bank; 10 Infs, chiefly Sth, Bank; MS46, SC32, TX40, Turnip bank; AL52, Cabbage bank; NC10, Sweet on farms) Inf Other kinds of buildings potato bank; (Qu. M22, AR52, Potato shed or potato bank potatoes were banked in dirt, covered with hay and then the shed over that; TX32, Tool shed, potato Addit G A5 1 bank, cotton house; GA 1 6, Tater bank. 1 969 DARE stealing potatoes

M

.

.

.

.

—

FW

Bank

— a construction of mulch and earth for preserving sweet potatoes

over winter. Pyramidal heap in back yard.

bank barn

MA

To Records 6, Ten Pounds granted 1720 in 1896 Canton Repaire The Roof of ye meeting Hovse and To Bank ye out side of ye scilsofsd hovse. cl853( 1860) Taylor January & June 143 Chicago IL, They 'banked up' the house, yesterday; put the cabbages in the cellar, the was "banked up" in day before. 1929 A mSp 5. 25, A Maine house winter to keep the cellar from freezing, pine and hemlock boughs being used and sometimes sawdust. 1951 Graham My Window 101 ME, The neighbors are beginning to bank their houses with evergreens. 1952 Caldwell Lamp for Nightfall 156 ME, Thede and Howard had already banked the house for the winter and now the leaves were covering the unsightly sawdust until none of it could be seen. Ibid 191, He had finished banking the house with sawdust and fir boughs. .

1

banjo frog n

/

2

To

.

.

.

.

store potatoes or other vegetables beneath a pile of earth

and mulch; hence vbl n banking,

[bank n

1

1]

chiefly

Sth

1851 in 927 Jones FL Plantation Rec. 418,2 [slaves] Banking Potatoes and soforth. 1966 DARE (Qu. M19) Inf GA9, Banked up— buried in 1

1966-70 DARE Tape AL1, He would bank these potatoes in the You pile these potatoes in there on the ground, then smoke house you put a lot o' hay on top of 'em. then you put dirt on top of them to keep 'em warm, and those potatoes would keep then; TX104, Bank the potatoes in wintertime; FL4 1 You bank the leaves and limbs of peanuts. 1972 Hilliard Hog Meat 275, "Banking" is a term used to describe Since sweet potatoes are susceptible a method of food preservation to frosts, southerners piled the tubers on a bed of straw or pine needles and then covered them with another layer of bedding. 3 also with out: To stack logs, usu at a river bank or landing to await transportation, chiefly Nth See also banking ground(s) 1856 MI State Ag. Soc. Trans, for 1855 7.828, There will be logs enough cut and "banked" for 100,000.000 feet of lumber. We are informed that the amount now banked daily, will amount to 2,500,000 feet. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Bank To deck logs on a river bank, to be moved downstream on the spring freshet. 1959 Robertson Ram 93 sID (as of 875), Father used to "bank out" cordwood on top of a ridge at the edge of our place. Sometimes there would be ricks dirt.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

—

1

—

In containing forty or fifty cords. 1 968 Adams Western Words, Bank logging, to pile logs along a railroad track. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Bank To pile up logs on a landing for transporting to the mill.

—

chiefly PA, OH, MD, VA, IN See Map Also basement barn A barn built into the side of a hill, affording entrance on at least two levels.

bank barn n called

2 also attrib, also coal bank:

A

coal

mine and

its

immediate

.

surroundings; the surface of a mine. 1804 (1904) Clark Orig. Jrls. Lewis & Clark Exped.

At 3 Miles bank appears to Contain great quantity of fine Coal. 1946 Stuart Tales Plum Grove 122 seKY, "You didn't have any business goin' in that coal mine on Bill Sexton," Grandma answered. "You went in that coal bank to whop him." 1968 Adams Western Words, Bank ... In mining, the surface of the mouth of a mine pit. 1969 DARE Jape KY28, He loaded coal in the cars, in the bank cars what brought the coal outside. 1973 PADS 59.42 WV, wVA, All the buildings, grounds, and underground passages assobank. Ibid WV, ciated with a particular coal mining operation wVA, Coal haulage vehicle bank car.

Bank of stone

[we] passed a Coal-Mine, or

Coal,

.

.

1.58,

this

.

.

.

.

.

.

3 See banking ground(s). 4 See tree bank,

bank n 2 In marble play: see quot.

1906 Lovett Old Boston Boys 42, He, among many others, used to run a "bank," as we called it, which consisted of a strip of wood, perhaps twelve or fifteen inches long, with six or eight little arches cut in it, each somewhat wider than a marble, and numbered from one up. This row of arches was held upright upon the ground, and the marksman, a few feet away, would shoot his marble with the object of entering one of the arches; if he succeeded, he was given the number of marbles which corresponded with the number over the arch, while, if he failed, the marble was appropriated by the banker.

—

bank v 1

also with up:

To

insulate a building against winter cold

piling earth or branches against

banking

1

its

1894 Congressional Record 18 Jan 1036/1 PA, On my father's there stood a big bank barn. 1903 DN 2.349 neOH, Bankfarm barn ... A barn built on the hill side so that three sides of the lower story are surrounded by earth, the fourth being open. 1940 Mencken Happy Days 85, By the time they got to the barnyard he was disappearing through the door of the old bank-barn. 1940 Yoder Rosanna 79 sePA, Besides a large bank barn, there were all the necessarv out-buildings. 1942 Warnick Garrett Co. 1946 PADS 5.10 (as of 1900- 1918). nwVA. 1941PADSS.30 swOH. 1950 WELS (A barn built on a hillside with entrances on two levels) 1 Inf, cwWI, Bank barn. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Ml,.. Different or special kinds of barns) 58 Infs, chiefly PA, OH, MD, VA, IN, Bank barn. 1968 DARE Tape MD20, We have a bank barn over there to store away feed and keep cows in in the wintertime and we have a cow barn to do the same thing.

base,

chiefly

NEng

by

See also

.

MD

.

bank beaver

/

bannanner

]

.

.

148

ME

1957 Beck Folkl.

bank beaver n 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Bank beavers ermen or river rats driving the rear on a log drive.

— Riv-

Dories were an improvement of the onshore aboard Eventually they became known as "banking" or 19,

1

fishing boats, with certain modifications to allow for easy stowage

the schooners

.

.

.

"nesting" dories.

banker n

An

1

inhabitant of the outer banks of the North Carolina chiefly

seacoast.

1750

who

in 1886

NC

NC Colonial Rec.

4.1306,

The Bankers

.

.

a set of People

on certain sandy Islands lying between the Sound and the Ocean. 1849 Cooper Sea Lions 36, This term of 'Banker' applies to a scattering population of wreckers and fishermen, who dwell on the long, from Cape Fear to near Cape Henry. 1939 FWP low, narrow beaches Guide NC 91, The coast people, the "bankers" in particular have lived so long isolated that their ways have a distinct flavor of their own. 1969 DARE FW Addit neNC, Banker someone from the outer banks of North Carolina. 2 A vessel or person engaged in fishing for cod off the banks of Newfoundland. [DCan 1777—] NEng See also banking dory 1704 Boston News- Letter (MA) 3 Nov 2/2, The Advice Man of War took a French Banker on the Banks of Newfoundland. 1848 Bartlett Americanisms. 1904 DN 2.394 MA, Banker ... A codder, cod fisherman. 1933 Hanley Disks Cape Cod MA, They used to send out the and they cured the fish bankers out of Provincetown, lots of vessels Lingo, Banker A fishing vessel that went to there. 1975 Gould live

1

.

.

1

.

—

banking ground(s) n Also bank way See also bank v 3

chiefly

Nth Also

called roll-

In logging: a place along a river where logs are stacked while awaiting further transportation.

1880 Lumberman's Gaz. Jan 728 (DA), The banking ground is about 25 feet above the bed of the river. 1902 White Blazed Trail 9 1 MI, It is necessary to follow briefly an outline of the process after the logs have been piled on the banks. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Banking ground More or less level ground beside a lake or river on which logs were banked or decked, to be floated out later on the drive. 1964 Hargreaves Story of Logging 30 MI, [Caption:] The rollway or banking grounds. This is where the shanty boys' job ended and where the river-drive started in the springtime when the ice melted and the driving streams ran high. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt 1

—

—

Lakes.

1

—

ME

Grand or Georges Bank, or 3 See mossbanker.

a

the

banket n

[Du]

|ban'ket|

in

—

crewman aboard.

Dutch communities

1969

almond paste. H63) Inf MI 102, Banket— almond

Also called

pastry filled with

DARE (Qu.

filling in

your initial for your birthday ... In Dutch communities everybody recognizes the word banket, though sometimes

in

America

it is

not the

The Polish bakers on the West Side of Grand most common word Rapids make banket and do not know it is Dutch. Ibid cCA, I make banket in pieces about 2 inches long and about 2 inches in circumference. It can also be shaped into letters, like if you want to give it as a Christmas gift. Then you might shape it into the form of someone's initial. Ibid swMI, Banket [bBn'ket] is especially popular around the .

.

1

holidays

when

ibank fence n of log fence; see quot. 1966 DARE (Qq. L6 62) Inf ME 12, Bank fence: spaced by rocks, held [in place] by vertical poles. ,

logs laid horizontally,

bankfish v fish

.

In the fireplace

.

IL141, Banking

.

the big log that goes

log;

ME23, Bank

log.

banklick bass n prob obs

The black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 69, The names "Bitter Head" and "Lampit and "Bank Lick Bass". 1902 Jordan Evermann Amer. Fishes 336, Banklick bass.

bank

A

line n Also

.

.

,

bank hook, ~ pole

and left unattended. Apr B12/5 (Hench Coll.) MD, [Legislation] Removing Montgomery County from provisions legalizing use of 1965-70 DARE (Qu. bush bobs and bank poles for fishing. Other ways offishing) Infs AL62, IL7, 108, 15, KS 12, KYI 1, PI 3, M06, NE9, OK52, SCI 1, Bank line; IL1 1, 1 19, Bank pole(s); KS15, Bank pole cut willows, put hook and line on it, no weights or floats; NC53, Set bank hooks; OK25, Bank hooks line tied to pole stuck in bank and left for a while. baited fishing line attached to the shore

1955 Sun (Baltimore

.

MD)

1

1

.

—

—

bank log See banking

log

several herds of buffalow,

Jrls. .

Amer. 3.91, Bank Swallow Goodrich Birds in KS 317.

bank pole See bank

— Lewis & Clark Exped. 5.279, [We] saw bank martins. 1917 (1923) Birds Bank Martin. 1946 Other Names

.

also

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

line

from the shore.

1966 DARE Tape SC7, 1 bankfish. be on the dirt.

I

have fished from a boat but I rather

968 DARE (Qu. P2

IA29, Bank

bank

rat n muskrat or similar animal. 1939 Sun (Baltimore MD) 16 Mar 6/3 (Hench

A

bank frog n 1

.

PA 165,

1806 (1904) Lewis Orig.

A type

To

(Qu. D33,

behind the others) Infs

bank martin n [OED 1774 =bank swallow 1

the kids get special treats.

1

=backlog 1 1966-70 DARE

lighter" are also ascribed to

a flaky butter pastry. 1982 Christian Renewal 1 1 Oct 21 swMI, [Advt:] This month we will be mailing a special Christmas catalog for chocolate initials, gingerbreads, banket, Christmas banket wreaths, marzepan, fancy tins with cookies and/or rusk. 1982 DARE File, The original Dutch is banket letters, almond filling in puff pastry baked in the shape of

.

rate of a fire's burning]

bankit See banquette

letter

A rolled

banking log n Also bank log [bank to maintain a slow and even

Coll.), Maryland's The fur of bank ten-week muskrat-trapping season ends at midnight rats, which live in holes in stream banks, is not as good as that of marsh 1968 DARE (Qu. P31) Inf rats, although it brings the same price. MN42, Bank rat a small one not the same [as a muskrat]. .

1

Smallfrogs that sing or chirp loudly in spring) Inf

,

frog.

bank hook See bank

—

—

line

.

Jbankrupture adj [Folk-etym]

banking n Earth or other material placed around the base of a building as protection against the cold, [bank v 1] chiefly NEng 1872 VT State Bd. Ag. Report for 1872 1 .309, The exclusion of cold air should be possible without the annual banking that is put around most farm houses in the fall. 1900 Day Up in 35, Good double winders and bankin' are mighty good friends. 1926 AmSp 2.79 ME, Pine, had served as a "bankin' " around the hemlock, and spruce boughs 1

ME

.

Bankrupt. 1954 Harder

Coll.

cwTN, He's gone bankrupture.

bank swallow n 1 Std: a swallow (Riparia riparia) which makes a nesting hole in a bank. Also called bank martin, bee martin 2, ground swallow, sand bird, sand martin, sand swallow

.

foundation of the house through the winter to keep out the cold. 1951 Graham My Window 39 ME, They cut the thatch for winter banking.

2 =rough-winged swallow.

2 See bank v

observation this is the common breeding "bank swallow" which is found scattered over the most [sic] of the state [Wisconsin]. Other 1962 Imhof AL Birds 364, Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow. Names:

2.

banking dory n Also

1903 in 1951 Kumlien-Hollister£/rafs

WI 91, Rough-winged Swallow.

From our

called banker 2, nesting dory

.

A

flat-bottomed boat used for cod fishing off the banks of

Newfoundland.

.

.

bannanner See banana

.

.

I

banner

149

banter n Pronc-sp banner chiefly Sth, Midi

banner v See banter v 2 and nEngl dial] chiefly Nth, esp eNEng See also Indian bannock A thin bread, usu made from cornmeal and cooked on a griddle.

bannock n

1848

Bartlett

'baenik|

[Scots

Americanisms 23, In

lard,

in

fried

I'baensk,

are

New England, cakes of Indian meal,

DN

1907

bannocks.

called

3.240

eME, Ban-

Corn bread. Woodmen's term. 1934 Harwich Port Lib. a muffin made of cornAssoc. From Cape Cod 140 eMA, Bannock meal, eggs, and milk. 1941 LANE Map 287, [Bannock, usu ['baenak, 'baemk], is widespread in northern and eastern New England]. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NVV, Bannock A flat cake of breadstuff made in a frying pan in a woods camp. Usually so tough it is easier to Special kinds of bread) Inf eat the pan. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. H18, MD12, Bannock ['bsenak] white bread dough cooked on a griddle, made of cornmeal flour, salt, about an inch thick; ME7, Bannock soda, sour milk, baked thin in [an] oven; WA31, Bannock ['baemk] sourdough bread with soda and water and flour and baked in a skillet; sourdough biscuits baked in [a] frying (Qu. HI 9) Inf SD8, Bannocks earlv Indian preparation with pan; (Qu. H25) Inf ID4, Bannock cornmeal; (Qu. H24) Inf NH16, Bannock. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.279 neMN, 1 inf, Bannock: Baking-powder bread made in a frying pan over an open fire in the woods. 1975 Gould ME Lingo, Bannock ... In Maine it means a coarse meal cake intended for a dog before patent dog foods ... If somebody says, "She fed me bannockr it means the nock

.

.

A

1

banner n See banter n

.

.

.

—

.

—

Baptist

See also banter v

challenge, dare.

GA

Scenes 28, "Well," said Blossom, "make a "you made the banter, now make your pass." 1872 Harper's Mag. 45.28/2 PA, But, having a mind to try the 1.235 wMO. 1950 mare a little stretch, I took up his banter. 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 63.432 MO, Children about to perform some hazardous "banner," such as jumping from a high place, often chant.

1840

(

847) Longstreet

1

"No,"

pass at me."

said Peter;

DN

A match or contest. Southern and Western. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Banter "There will be a banter on the bare ground." meaning a shootingmatch. 1906 ZW3.125 nwAR. 2

.

3 in phr whet a banter: See quots. 1927 AmSp 2.366 wcVVV, Whet a banter

.

.

.

.

to challenge for a contest in

.

—

—

/

—

—

—

food wasn't that good.

manner of whetting the scythe. "John whet a banter just To make a loud 1936 A mSp 11.318 Ozarks, Whet a banner

mowing by then."

the

.

.

with a whetstone, scraping it on a scythe or cradle. challenge to other reapers at harvest-time. rattle

[OED ^1864

bantling n

A small child,

an

in

lit

A

sort

of

use]

infant.

1809 W. Irving Knickerb. (1861) 48 (OED), A tender virgin, accidenand unaccountably enriched with a bantling. 1936 AmSp 1 1 .275 cTN Mts, The bantling is in the cradle. 1939 ( 1 962) Thompson Body & Britches 2 1 NY [In lyrics to a ballad], A woman tall, who, on each arm, / A little, pale-faced bantling bore. 1944 PADS 2.40 sVA, wNC, Bantling ... A child. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.518 wNC, Bantlin tally

'.

banquette n Usu |'bsenket| Pronc-sp bankit foot-path] sLA, occas eTX

A raised

[Fr banquette

sidewalk or footpath.

1841 Daily Picayune (New Orleans LA) 28 Jan 2/3, Bill Posey, the flower of loafers, was found stretched on the banquette on Tuesday night, like a turtle in a market cart. 1886 Amer. Philol. Assoc. Trans. 17'.45, Banquette or bankit sidewalk in New Orleans. 1927 Kennedy Gritny 1 52 sLA [Black], Wen dey see Cindy comin' long de banquette, dey crosses over to de yuther side de street. 1958 Grau Hard Blue Sky 64 sLA, The saddle horses and the carts were tied two deep to the hitchingstands along the banquettes. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX Map 44, [The map shows one instance of banquette in eTX, 23 instances in sLA]. 1968 DARE (Qu. N44) Inf LA40, Banquette ['bankit]— this included the whole thing from the fence to the curb, including the sidewalk. .

ban't See be

.

CI a

ban-tailed hawk n Also ban-tail hawk [Perh for band-tailed; cf band-tailed buzzard, former name of the zone-tailed hawk] 1966-69 DARE (Qu. Q4) Inf FL4, Ban-tail hawks; CA1 17, Ban-tailed hawk.

banter v [Engl 1

To

haggle,

dial]

.

'

To

challenge, dare; goad,

1810 Cuming Sketches 1 35

chiefly Sth,

Midi

OH, Two

hunters sat down with us ... At last they bantered each other to go out and kill a deer. 1872 Eggleston End of the World 177 IN, He grew excited, and bantered the whole crowd. Was there no gentleman in the crowd who would lay a wager of

1892 DN 1.235 wMO, A boy will say, "I'll banter you to dive from that bank." 1902 DN 2.228 sIL. 1903 DN 3.305 seMO. 1906 ZW3.125 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.289 eAL, wGA. 1948 WELSSuppl. csWI, When children dared each other to jump a stream, they said, "Banner you to jump the branch." 1950 Stuart Hie Hunters 167 eKY, He just ran up and fronted a man, stuck his face out like he was bannering the man to strike it, and squirt! It was all over. He always got one eye. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1967 DARE (QR p26) Inf C08, Bannered me to go [FW: Infs spelling— misheard as "bantered," but it's "bannered"]; (Qu. Y5, "Johnny ") Inf C07, wouldn't have tried that if the other boys hadn't Bannered him.

wine

for the

.

.

company on

.

this interesting little trick?

.

.

.

.

.

banty adj Also banty-legged [Alter of bandy-legged perh inQ by banty n] Cf bandy-shanked Bowlegged. 1927 in 1944

ADD WV,

Banty-legged. (as of c 1900),

.

banya n Also sp banio [Russ]

old-fash

,

2 also banner:

almost as widely used as the standard form in the phrase 'bantam 1942 AmSp 17.100 ePA, [baendi] bantam. 1954 PADS rooster.' 2 1 .20 SC, wMD. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Be sure to feed the old banty hen. 1960 Williams Walk Egypt 225 GA, She giggled. "Better men in Bugtown. Don't need a banty, I can get me a rooster." Ibid255, "Mama Other says we can hunt banty eggs." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K76, kinds of poultry) 20 Infs. widespread, esp east of Missip R, Banties: NY92, Buff cochin banties; MN34, NV8, NY230, TX33, VT16, Banty hen(s); KY23, MN33, PA 10, Banty chickens; PA80, VA7, Banty rooster; WI14, Banty; OHIO, Bandies.

maker 1300 Words cPA Mts

See also banter n

1793 Thomas' MA Spy or Worcester Gaz. (MA) 4 Apr 1/2 NY, The husband after a few minutes bantering, accepted, in exchange for his wife, an old horse, with nine dollars in cash to boot. 1895 DN 1.396. Banter: to haggle at a price. 1946 Greer- Petrie Angeline Steppin 36 csKY, Lum bantered him fur a trade, and even offered the feller his Barlow knife and six bits. 1968 DARE (Qu. U12, If you were buying something and you argued with the person selling it till you made him ") Infs NY75, 96, Bantered lower the price, you might say, "I him down; GA44, Bantered with him [laughter]. [All Infs old] .

banty n, often attrib Pronc-sp bandy widespread, esp east of Missip R A bantam; also fig. 1890 DN 1.76 NJ, MD, Banty: for bantam. 1892 DN 1.214 NEng. Ibid234K\. 1912DA3.571 wIN. 1936 AmSp 1 1.161 eTX, ['barnti] is

.

Bowlegged.

1930 Shoe-

Banty— Bow-legged.

AK

A

bath house. 1882 Elliot Seal Islands 173 AK, Banio ... A steamy bath-house. 1941 Alaska Sportsman July 22 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl), Old Russian banyas or detached bath-houses, such as were once to be found in the yard of every Russian family, are still being used by some Kodiak have large communal banyas families. 1913 AK Mag. Nov 7, Many 1

many

that house as

.

.

as 30 to 40 people.

tbap v [Varof bat v 2 1] l970DARE(Qu. X24, When a person opens and closes his eyes quickly, he

)

Inf NC88. Baps.

bapa n Also

sp baw-pa

[Varr of baba

1]

Cfbamma

A grandfather. DARE

Grandfather) Inf M032, Bapa [baepe]; 1983 DARE File cnCT, [bapa] is used by a family from near Hartford, Conn. The kids are ca. 12-16 years old;

1966-69

WA17, Baw-pa [bapa]

is

(Qu. Z3,

.

.

[bopa].

77.

bapsouse

v, hence bapsouzing vbl n immerse] joe

To

[Blend of baptize

+ souse

baptize.

1906 DN 3. 1 25 nwAR, There's going to be a bapsouzin at the creek next Sunday. 1926 Roberts Time of Man 1 19 cKY, "I baptize you ..." "Quit, I already been bapsoused."

Baptist n

fbaep.tist, 'baeptis|; esp Sth, Midi |'baeb,tis(t), Pronc-spp Babdist, Babtiss, Babtist, pi Babtises,

Usu

'baeb,dis(t)|

7 6

1

cake

Baptist

barabara

/

Baptises, Baptists

baptize

150

Thus

(cf -es 1)

also baptism |'baeb,tizm|,

A Forms. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69

of provincialisms to be avoided], 1843 ( 1 9 1 6) Hall New Purchase 1 47 IN, History

Babtises, for Baptists.

[In

list

DN 1.238 cwMO, Babdist. 1895 DN 1.375 seKY, eTN, wNC, Babtist. 1903 DN 2.305 seMO, Babtiss. 1905 DN 3.228 nwAR, Babtis'. 1911 ZW 3.503 Sth, [Of 239 Infs, 85 report medial p, 1892

of the Baptisis.

154 report medial b in Baptist]. 1934 Carmer Stars Fell on AL 23, belongs to the Babtists and we don't dance. Ibid 25, The babtizin was before us. 1936 AmSp 11.237 eTX, The tendency in illiterate ['baeb.taiz], toward full voicing of the medial p speech is 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 97 eTN, wNC, ['baeb.tizm], ['baebtis]. 1966 Wilson Coll. csKY, Baptist ['baebtis] church. 1967 ['baebdis]. Addit LA12, ['bseb.taiz]. 1967-68 DARE Tape TX49, DARE .

.

.

.

.

FW

IN 10,

['basb.tis];

B

['bseb.tist].

[See quot]

slider.

—

—

NW

attrib: An oblong cookie or pastry, chiefly Nth, Cf maple bar 1966-69 DARE (Qu. H30, An oblong cake, cooked in deep fat) Infs CA162, ID1, OR1, WA19, Bar(s); VA1, Bar cake; (Qu. H28) Inf IA17, Bars; IL91, Bar doughnuts. 1981 DARE File csMN, Cub Scouts are

3 also

asked to bring bars to bake

sales. Bars are any cookies like brownies, date baked in a shallow pan and cut into squares or rectangles. Sometimes bars are frosted. 1982 Sunshine (Madison WI) June 3/3 csWI, A collection of favorite bread and bar recipes will also

bars, etc. that are

1

be for

sale.

4 See water bar. $5 In marble play: see quot. Cf DS EE8 1933 Hanley Disks swCT, Bar. Lag-line in marble

Sense.

=pond

1896 Land of Sunshine July 62 sCA, Some of the bar claims were as high as $8 to the pan being obtained in some places. 1968 Adams Western Words, Bar diggings Gold washing on river bars. Bars are worked when the water is low or with the aid of cofferdams. high.

quite rich

|'baeb,taiz|

1952 Carr Turtle 248, Yellow-bellied Turtle Pseudemys scripta scripta ... In west Florida, where turtles are commonly speared in deep, clear springs, it is regularly recognized and is called "Baptist," with reference to the thick, hard shell.

NEng

Baptist cake n Also Baptist bread [See quot 1956] Also called fried bread 1, holy poke, huffjuff

Map 285 3 Infs, ceCT, csMA, Baptist cake(s). 1956 Culinary Arts Inst. New Engl. Cook Book 7, Baptist Cakes. These crisp, tempting morsels 1

immersed"

See bear n

1

play.

A

bar n 3 Also sp baire, bear, bere, bier [LaFr boire mosquito net, rel to Fr barre cross-bar] Sth, esp sLA and other Fr settlement areas

A

mosquito

net.

1775 (1962) Romans Nat. Hist. FL 89, Where musketoes are plenty, have a close covering, called in this country a Bere, and made in form of a musketo net, to put up over your bed. Ibid22%, [Footnote:] Bairesare a kind of tent made of light coarse cloth, like canvas gauze. 1797 (1856) Baily Jrl. 309 sLA, The bedrooms are furnished with nothing but a covered with a clean, white sheet; and over the whole hard-stuffedbed there is a large gauze net (called a bear), which is intended as a defence against the mosquitos. 1805 (1965) Lewis-Clark Hist. Lewis-Clark Exped. 2.4 1 7, [Footnote:] I had left my bier, of course suffered considerably. 1894 Twain Pudd'nhead Wilson 415, Get their bed ready and see that you drive all the mosquitoes out of their bar. 1916 DN 4.268 New Orleans LA, Bar. 1945 Saxon Gumbo Ya-Ya 273 LA, She journeys from bedchamber to bedchamber, raising mosquito baires and peering hopefully into the face of each sleeper. 1955 Warren Angels 80 LA, After a while. I rose, took off only my dress and shoes, then lay down on the bed. I arranged the baire. But I had no intention of going to sleep. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. R16, The fine, thin cloth that lets air in but keeps mosquitoes and other insects out; total Infs questioned, 75) 24 Infs, chiefly MS, OK, FL, Mosquito bar; AR28, 41, Skeet bar. 1967 LeCompte Word Atlas 144 seLA, Fine thin cloth that lets air in and keeps mosquitoes and other insects out baire [given by 6 of 21 infs]. 1

Raised bread-dough fried in deep fat. 1931-33 LANE Worksheets csMA, Baptist cake. A sweet roll made of breadflour, sweetened, twisted, dropped in hot fat. 1939 Wolcott Yankee Cook Book 368 NEng, Baptist bread: small irregular pieces of raised bread-dough fried in deep fat; served with maple syrup. 1941 LANE

got their name, so legend says, "because they were

bar n

2

—

in

deep

.

.

.

.

.

fat,

that

is.

Baptist dam-breaker See dam-buster Baptist pallet n [See quot 1970]

chiefly

Cf pallet temporary bed or shakedown used

Sth Also called Meth-

odist pallet

A

connection with pro-

in

tracted religious meetings.

.

1962Atwood Vocab. TX 41, Bed on thefloor Baptist pallet, probably in allusion to large

1965-66

attendant discomforts. Baptist pallet;

AR47,

home

.

DARE (Qu.

Free-will Baptist pallet.

neTX, Informants who

summertime

Four informants give religious gatherings and their .

.

El 8) Infs AL1 1, MSI, 1970 Tarpley Blinky 105

use of pallets for the children at evangelist services (usually held outdoors) still refer to the recall the

variety as Baptist

.

.

pallets.

Perh an agapanthus. 1970 DARE Tape TN52, in the it

summer

[inside]

spring

.

bulb?]

.

they're

.

.

A baptist plant is a beautiful plant,

It

it .

.

.

.

blooms .

.

bud [sic; = and one year They multiply a lot; they grow and bloom naked and the pot is so thick you have to thin it out. .

.

.

.

[The blossoms are

a]

pretty blue

.

.

.

It's

a

baquero See buckaroo bar n 1

~ pig

.

.

|ba(r), bar|

chiefly Sth, Midi,

swVA, Bar

.

[Reduced form of bar-

nNY .

.

Short for barrow.

1931-33

LANE

castrated hog. 1941 Stuart Men ofMts. Worksheets swVT, Bar pig bar hogs and bulls. 345 neKY, We see crates of chickens, geese 1946P.4Z)S6.5eNC(asofcl900),5ar[bar,ba:] A barrow, a castrated The hog The usual word. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, ['barJiDg] male, castrated hog. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K58) 5 Infs, Sth, Midi, Bar; NY 13, 109, 233, Bar [bar, bar]; NY92, Bar [bar] "Infs spelling is barr" [FW]; KY62, Bar-hog; NC3, NY209, Bar pig. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 48% were from comm-type 5; of those giving these responses. 86% were from comm-type 5.] .

I keep doesn't stay bloomed long, but it's pretty through the winter [and] put them outdoors in .

row n 2 ]

A gelded hog. 1915 DN 4.180

baptist plant n

.

.

bar n 4 Also bar hog,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

—

1

1

A horizontal line in a cattle brand, often used in the names of

ranches.

West

6/4 (DA), Circle Bar Ranch. Ibid 1 5 Mar 6/3, The G-bar-outfit. 1911 Outing Mar 736/1, With the beginning of Bonanza's espionage the Bar Cross cattle ceased to disappear. 1951 Grant Cowboy Encycl. 29, A dash was a Bar. Capital letters were known as Big. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 26 1 West, A straight line's a "bar" if it rests in a horizontal position.

1890 Stock Grower 29

Mar

A surface deposit of gold ore. West hist 1852 Coke A Ride to Oregon and California 358 (Perrin Coll.), By the law of mutual agreement each miner is entitled to a certain portion of this "bar" as it is called, in which gold is found. 1867 Hollister Mines CO 60, Langley lighted upon some placer or bar-diggings in a gulch on South Boulder Creek. Ibid 46, The Foot-hills furnished many gulch, placer, and bar-mines, that is, surface deposits containing gold which could be got out by washing. 1871 U.S. Treas. Dept. Mines 1 99 ID, It is not practical to carry on bar-mining in the Snake while the stream is 2 freq attrib:

bar adj See bare

barabara n Usu Ibs'rabaral Also sp barabarra, barabba, barrabara, and dim barrabkie [Russ] AK A simple hut, usu built partially underground, used in the Aleutian Islands. 1868 Whymper Travel AK

162, We came to a small and very dilapidated Indian shanty, not much better than an open camp, known by the Russians as 'Ivan's barabba' (house). 1882 Elliot Seal Islands 1 73 AK, Barrabkie ... A hut. Barrabara ... A large hut. 1903 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 1 AK, He preceded them, and cleared out of the barrabara all of the straw and bedding. 1943 Alaska Sportsman Jan 28 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl. ), In its correct interpretation a barabarra is a primitive native Aleut home which ... is a crude framework of driftwood shaped over a hole in the ground and covered with sods and earth. 1951 Winchell Home Bering Sea 60 AK, But Feodor liked it, for he had always lived in a house just like that. It was a barabara (ba rab' ara) by the river. 1981 Tabbert indicate main stress Several quotations Alaskan Engl, Barabara on the second syllable. .

.

.

.

.

A

.

baraboo

151

baraboo See barbaree

NJ

barb n [See quot 1906]

A kingfish

(either Menticirrhus

1

1878 Smithsonian

in

.

.

.

.

.

americanus or M.

saxatilis).

.

.

Inst.

.

.

.

mandible below.

Barbara's-buttons n A perennial plant of the chiefly southeastern genus Marshallia which has alternate leaves, no ray flowers, and a white to purplish corolla. Also called false scabish, puffballs Barbara's but1933 Small Manual SE Flora 1455, Marshallia Moist 1964 Batson Wild Flowers SC 122, Barbara's-buttons pinelands and clearings in the Coastal Plains. 1975 Duncan -Foote .

.

.

tons.

.

SE

Wild/lowers .

.

Barbara's-buttons ... Marshallia

220,

.

.

trinerva

Marshallia tenuifolia.

.

barbaree

exclam Also baraboo, barbaroot, (high) barbary

n,

Nth Cf blankie-lie-low A hiding game usu played with teams;

.

—

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

—

by teenagers. 1966 - 70 DARE (Qu. EE 1 2, Games in which one captain hides his team) Infs IL135, PA194, Barbary; SD8, Barbaroot ['barba'rut]; (Qu. EE13a) Inf NY82, Barbary; (Qu. EE16) Inf PA 194, Barbary; NJ39, Barbary "it" counts, hider yells "Barbary"; "it" calls, "[I've] lost track"; hider must yell or whisper "Barbary"; (Qu. EE33) Inf MI 109, High barbary ['babari] divide into groups, one group would hide and call out "high barbary." [but] being revived

—

—

habit of staying over gravel bars in river

its

channels]

ocellatus

.

Game

N. Amer.

Names:

.

Fishes 79, Channel Bass Scixnops

of a tree; to fell a tree so as to produce such a stump. 1950 Western Folkl. 9.380 cnCA, Barber chair. A long slab hanging on a stump. This oversized splinter is caused by a tree not being sufficiently undercut. 1956 Sorden-Ebert Logger 's WordsGtLakes, Barber-chair, A stump with part of the tree still on it due to the tree splitting when falling. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Barber chair ... a. A tree which is split up the trunk in falling, leaving the split portion on the stump, instead of breaking through cleanly to the undercut, b. The act of making a tree into a barber chair. 1959 AmSp 34.76 A tree with a hole in the base caused by fire nCA, Barber chair Also, a stump on which a slab is left burning out the rotted center standing that splintered off the tree as it fell. 1966 DARE Jape MI 10, If you were out there felling timber and caused a tree to split when you knocked it down, and leave part of the trunk attached to the stump, it was said that you had barber-chaired that tree. felling

.

1896

Jrl.

siana ... ago,

Centaurea Cyanus it

barbeau, Loui-

from France.

barbed-wire pie n Cf barb wire deal Fig: something utterly disagreeable. 1942 Hurston Dust Tracks 103 sFL [Black], and

established authority

worse than barbed-wire

I

just

had

back

to talk

at

that established authority hated backtalk

pie.

'

each of us a large stick of red-striped candy. 1968-69 H82b) Inf CA 105, Barber pole candy; IL98, Barber poles.

1931]

(Qu.

—

3 =sugarstick. 1934 Haskin Wild Flowers Pacific Coast 245, One of the most showy of the

barber's saprophytes found growing in our deep forests is The whole stem is splashed and striped with scarlet, on pure .

.

.

.

member

1949 Peattie Cascades 233 Pacific NW, The most striking of this group is the barber's pole or sugar-stick, Allotropa Numerous scale-like leaves clothe the bottom of a distinctive stalk.

DARE

(Qu. P2,

.

.

Saltwater fish

.

.

[that] are

good

to eat) Inf

pole, a cod.

barber-pole paint n joe =striped paint. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. HH14, Ways of teasing a beginner or inexperienced person for example, by sending him for a "left-handed monkey") Infs IA30. SC40, (A can of) barber-pole wrench ": "Go get me paint.

barberry n [Folk-etym] of the genus Berberis; also the berries thereof.

called agarita, agrillo 1, hollygrape,

Also

mountain grape, Oregon

grape

LA

1

barbeshela See bobbasheely

PeniBarbe Espagnole Spanish moss cau», writing in says: "... This moss is an herb of a long, fine fiber, growing upon the trees, which the French of this part of the country call [is] the exact Spanish-beard ..." Barbe a l'Espagnole [term] that Penicaut uses for "Spanish moss". 1937 Torreya 37.96, Dendropogon usneoides Barbe espagnole, Louisiana and Missouri. 1972 Brown Wildflowers LA 12 Spanish-moss, Barb-d'Espanole.

French 1699 .

.

4,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

barber n [See quot 1889] A winter storm in which frozen winds. 1832 McGregor

bar-bill

n

,

.

.

DARE

2 In logging: see quot. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Barber pole sawed tree fallen on another, bending it over.

Std: a plant

[See quot

LA

=Spanish moss 1931 Read

.

—

barbe espagnole n Also barb-d'espanole chiefly

.

.

A name common along the Mississippi a generation and more

from a M. Barbeau, who brought

.

also attrib: A stick of spirally striped candy. 1944 Howard Walkin Preacher 1 9 IA, "You boys help me out trading here for your mother so I'll give you a barber pole." Then he would hand

1968 Folkl. 9.191,

.

1

CA65. Barber

.

Amer.

.

4 See quot.

barbeau n 1

.

.

red-and-white striped

barb-d'espanole See barbe espagnole =cornflower

.

.

barber pole n Also barber's pole

virgata.

Bar Bass.

.

Nth Cf goose pen, tombstone stump usu resulting from improper

n, v

In logging: a chair-shaped

.

.

.

barber chair

pole white.

=red drum. 1946 LaMonte

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

also the call yelled or

whispered by the hiders as a hint of their location. 1901 DN 2. 36 cNY, Barbaree ... A game similar to black-a-li-lo both cries in this case being "barbaree." 1945 Boyd Hdbk. Games 67, When a Baraboo One player blinds while the other players hide When the hunters have player is touched, he becomes a hunter exhausted their power to find the hiders, the original hunter may call "Baraboo," whereupon all those hiders who hear his voice must answer "Hilow." 1950 WELS (Games in which one captain hides his team and old-fashioned the other team tries to find it) 1 Inf, cWI, Barb-a-ree

bar bass n [From

condensed to powdery snow, in some instances as sharp as fragments of When the vapour is so suddenly condensed as to form sharp steel spicules, the Canadian voyageurs call it the barber, as it cuts the face like 1889 (1968) Reddall Fact 57, Barber ... A severe storm, a razor.] accompanied by intense cold, peculiar to the Gulf of St. Lawrence The name is also applied to a phase of cold along the coasts of Nova Scotia and New England. 1982 TWA Ambassador July 47, Barber. A term used in some sections of the United States and Canada to describe a strong wind that carries precipitation that freezes upon contact with objects, especially the beard and hair. .

Misc. Coll. 14.2.27, Menticirrus [sic] Barb (New Jersey). 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 123, The nebulosus also known as the "Barb" about Barnegat [New JerKing-fish, sey]. 1906 NJ State Museum Annual Rept. for 1 905 336, Menticirrhus Barb ... A single short thick fleshy barbel at symphysis of saxatilis

1873

barboquejo

/

=ring-necked duck. 1953 Jewett Birds

WA

134, Bar-bill

.

driven by fierce

Amer. 1.133, [Footnote:] The keen north-west wind, during winter, is often called the "Barber" in America. [1889 (1971) Farmer Americanisms, Barber... The cold wind .. comes down across the track of a warm wind the moisture is instantly Brit.

.

.

.

Bill

.

.

black, crossed by blue

barbood, barbooth See barbudi

barboquejo n Also sp barbiquejo ice crystals are

.

band near end.

[Span]

SW

Also called

bonnet string

The chin

strap of a cowboy hat. chin-strap on a cowboy's 1945 Thorp Pardner 298 SW, Barboquejo hat. used especially in brushy country to keep the hat on the wearer's head. 1955 Harris Look of Old West 105, The hats many of them wore and a were Mexican sombreros, with high curved edges dangling long and loose under the wearer's jaw. 1977 barbiquejo

—

.

.

.

.

1

barbot

bared

/

152

Watts Diet. Old West, Barboquejo The chin strap of a hat ... I have seen this term used only in the brush-country of southwest Texas, but it was possibly more widely used. .

.

.

barbot n [Var of burbot] =burbot. 1968 DARE (Qu. PI) Inf AK9, Barbot

['bar.bat]

—

ling cod.

barbuti

.

barb wire deal n Cf barbed-wire pie 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Barb

+ cat]

1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 204 Chesapeake Bay, The boat was [was] not more than eighteen Its freeboard amidships .

.

.

.

"Funny

.

.

looking things, ain't they?" "They're " over on Tangier [Sound] they call them 'bar cats.'

.

.

very

.

crab

.

B

— has short

See barefooted tail.

bare-ass(ed)

on at

.

Cfbarpitl

parallel to a

1965 - 70

barrow

pit 1].

1963 is

AmSp

38.157

a ditch that runs

roadway and bars cattle or sheep from the roadway. N24, A ditch along the side of a graded road) 3 OK, TX, Bar ditch. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 53, In

.

.

.

bar ditch n [Prone var of barrow ditch; for folk-etym, see quot 1963 at 1] 1 =barrow pit 1 chiefly OK, TX See Map and Map Section [see

|bar, baer, ba|

Sense.

Naked.

CO. 1950

S Midi,

esp

Forms.

barda grease See bardy grease

11.17

|ber, bea, bea|; also,

1677 in 1965 AmSp 40.236 VA, "He hoped that Coll. Swan would be pulked [=plucked] bar." 1893 Shands Speech 6, [ba] for bare. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bar Bare, "On his bar back." 1927 Shewmake Engl. Prone. VA 17, Bare [bs:r]. 1934 Carmer Stars Fell on AL 1 82, Brer B'artu'n 'roun' an' look, he scratch his head, he say: 'Dat 'ar rabbit done left me bar.' cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bare rarely /bar/ among the elderly.

bare-naked

[students] pointed out that a bar ditch

[Pronc-sp or folk-etym

sAppalachians

Pronc-sp bar

bardaciously See bodaciously

PADS

.

ill.

chiefly

1949

.

Fusel oil. 1962 Mt. Life Winter 12 sAppalachians, From the end of the worm is suspended an old sock filled with charred hardwood to "cut out the bardy grease" from the singing liquid before it rings into the glass jar below. 1972 Foxfire Book 324 nGA, The alcohol which flows out here is usually strained through hickory coals to remove the fusel oils (barda grease). Ibid 339, The coals remove the "bardy grease" (it shows up as an oil slick on top of the whiskey if not drained off) which can make one

bardacious See bodacious

TX, Several

what the old men

—

for verdigris]

.

bar cat n 2 [Prob prone var of bear cat] =lynx. 1967 DARE (Qu. P3 ) Inf KY34, Bar cat ['bar.kaet] 1

that's

MS

=crab scraper. .

—

it.

Hence vbl n bar-dogging tending bar. 1944 Adams Western Words, Bar-dog A bartender. Many were former cowboys too stove-up for riding. 1971 Jennings Cowboys 182 West, He'd settle down somewhere and learn a nice trade, maybe, like bar-dogging Drinkers always seemed to like bartenders.

A

[bar perh from sand bar

for

bare adj Usu wire deal— A tough

situation to handle.

small ... inches scrapers

me call bar-dog n West joe it

.

—

—

1

who mow

bardy grease n Also sp barda grease

1967 DARE (Qu. DD35) Inf IA5, Barbudi [bar'but,di] a Greek dice, a Basque game, gambling game; (Qu. DD37) Inf OR 1 0, [bar'but] but played all around here. cl971 Hall Snake River Valley swID, 1 inf, Barbooth; 1 inf, Barbute. 1982 Contract Bridge Letters swCA, Barbuti is played between two players; each arrived with a minature dice-cup containing two very small dies. They cast the dice in turn ... It is the only "even-break" dice game known! i.e., 1-1, 1-2 loses; 6-5/5-6 wins by whoever is shooting. Ibid swCA, Barbudi, barbood and barbooth ... a 2-dice game also called even-up craps. It is played where Greek immigrants, or Jewish ones gather.

bar cat n

sidewalk and the curb) Inf OK20, Bar ditch

A bartender.

barbudi n Pronc-spp barbood, barbooth, barbute, [CanFr barbote from Turkish barbut] ?esp West A gambling game played with dice.

.

.

1

adj,

NEast

adv Also abbr B.A.;

See

Map

esp

for addit varr see quots

among male

See also

speakers

1936 Kingsley Dead End 24 NYC, Philip: Besides, I haven't got my suit. No clothes Tommy: Well, go in bareass. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. W20, .

.

") 19 Infs, chiefly NEast, "They went in swimming Bare-assed; CT9, NJ54, NY80, 81, 201, NC76, Bare-ass;MA7, 72, VT16, Bollicky bare-ass(ed); MAI, B.A.; ME21, Bare-arse; M027, Bare-ass naked; CA59, Bare-assed naked. [Of all Infs responding to the

all

.

question,

.

60% were

86% were

male; of those giving these responses,

male.l

DARE (Qu.

Infs, chiefly

Oklahoma

.

.

the

first

preference

is

for

bar

ditch.

ibarebones adv •bar ditch

1

(Qu. N24)

2 =barrow pit 2. These are long narrow 1982 Smithsonian Letters TX, Bar ditch ponds alongside a roadway constructed across a lowland area. Fill for the roadway was "borrowed" (excavated) from the right-of-way and thus caused the pond. Our supposition is that bar is a contraction of borrow.

—

Bareback; without a saddle. 1940 (1978) Still River of Earth 66 KY, A pony went whispering on rocky ground. A man rode barebones.

bared

by, shoeless, feet

adj Pronc-sp for barred

1953 Randolph Down in Holler 10 Ozarks, The noun bar is correctly told me sounded, but the adjective barred is generally bared; a boy dethat the windows of the jail-house were bared all round. A woman .

.

.

3 See quot. 1966 DARE (Qu. N44, In a town, the strip ofgrass and trees between the

scribed a dried-apple pie as cross-bared.

.

barefeeted

153

barge

/

barefeeted adj Without shoes, barefoot. 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 245 SC, E got such a awful splinter in danced barefeeted. 1967 DARE Tape ALU, We We would go barefeeted. didn' have shoes e heel de last time e .

.

.

[CfSND barefoot(ed)

barefooted adj Also barefoot made without meat]

also bare, rarely bare-handed:

1

Mid and C

luted,

chiefly

called

naked Bl

Atl,

Of coffee,

tea,

Ohio Valley

broth broth

or liquor: undi-

See

Map

Also

Cf socks

1847 Paulding Amer. Comedies 194 Philadelphia PA, I thought even a

Yankee knew

that 'stone fence barefooted'

— pure,

is

the polite English for

1867 Lowell Biglow lxii NEng, "I take my tea barfoot," said a backwoodsman when asked if he would have cream and sugar. 1888 Whitman November Boughs 406, "Barefoot whiskey" is the Tennessee name for the undiluted stimulant. 1954 Wilson csKY, PADS 21.20 eSC, Barefoot. cl960 Coll. Straight, as coffee without cream and sugar, or whiskey, Barefoot(ed) "Would you like milk or undiluted. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. KK61, ") 19 Infs, chiefly lemon in your tea?" "No thanks, I'll take it Mid and C Atl, Ohio Valley, Barefooted; NC7, Barefooted (coffee); TX11, Barefooted— naked; GA67, IN32, NJ1, 39, PA234, TN13, VA1 5, Barefoot; PA35, Branch water and barefoot; 1 1 Infs, chiefly Mid and C Atl, Ohio Valley, Bare; KY47, Bare-handed. 1967-68 DARE FW Addit eel A, Barefoot coffee with neither cream nor sugar heard from waitress in Iowa City; swOR, Barefooted coffee straight. whisky uncontaminated

.

.

sir!

.

.

.

—

—

—

DARE

(Qu. BB17, Other words .for vomiting) 19 Infs, chiefly Nth, West, Barf. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 10% were young; of those giving this response, 68% were young.] 1965 DARE File IL (as of because they 1 957), The history department won't let you drink milk one of Addit, Barf bag claim it will make you barf. 1966 DARE those "discreet" little bags tucked into a pouch on the back of an airplane 1967 Stegner Little Live Things 143 seat. Used in case of air sickness. CA, This kid comes out into the view of the crass materialist world to exercise his spiritual rectum. I'm not interested. I want to barf. .

.

.

—

FW

[From its being striped or barred] The black crappie. Museum Bulletin 1882 U.S. Natl.

barfish n 1

16.465, PfomoxisJ 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 69, In and it is Lake Erie, and in Ohio generally, it is the "Strawberry Bass," also called "Bar-fish" ... In Lake Michigan the name "Bar-fish" is in general use. 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 336, Grass bass, barfish. and lamplighter are names which have been applied to this

sparoides

.

.

.

Calico Bass

.

.

Barfish.

.

.

.

.

.

fish [black crappie].

2 =yellow bass. is generally known 18S1 Goode Amer. Fishes 33, Another species Yellow Bass, but sometimes called Bar-fish in the South. Ibid 34, In Louisiana this species is called "Bar-fish" probably on account of its Common stripes. 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 362, Yellow Bass .

.

.

.

as the

.

Names:

2

Of bread: AmSp

plain,

without anything added.

1933

8.1.47 Ozarks, Barefoot bread Hard cornbread without shortening. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Barefoot bread bread without ingredients such as eggs or lard. .

.

3 Of horses: unshod. West 1805 (1905) Lewis Orig. Jrls. Lewis our

notwithstanding

horsed[s]

made

.

Hard

.

.

.

Clark Exped. 3.15 traveled

[sic]

MT, Yet

Map

barefoot

.

.

.

3 =white bass. 1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 361, The White Bass appears in Louisiana to be known almost exclusively by the name of Barfish. 1967 DARE Tape LA5, Catch a good many barfish at times ... To me, something like a striped bass, only they're a lot bigger 'round here than what striped bass gets. 1968 DARE (Qu. PI) Inf LA15, Barfish. [FW: Same as white bass.] 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 362.

See header barge.

1

over

[Redund]

adj

but chiefly

scattered,

Nth

See

See also bare-ass(ed)

Naked.

2 Orig a horse-drawn large

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

naked. v, n [Perh imit] speakers

barf

chiefly Nth,

West

esp

among young

wagon or

vomit; vomit. 1964 AmSp 39. 17 [Campus slang], Barf, a verb meaning 'to vomit,' assignable on the basis of my own observation and that of an indepen1

.

.

the

people;

now

sleigh

used for transporting a

also a bus, esp a school bus.

old-fash

1882 Howells Modern Instance 328 NEng, Marcia watched him drive off toward the station in the hotel barge. 1888 in 1960 AmSp 35.267, Barge. In New England, a name given to an omnibus on wheels. 1907 £W 3. 1 8 1 seNH. 1939 LANE Map 185 seMA, 1 inf, Barge, a bus for transporting school children. 1959 VT Hist, ns 27 swVT, Barge ... A barge. Occasional. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. N40b) Inf Barge on runners in winter, before the trolley came in, would hold 15 to 20 people; MA74. School barge a pung, really; (Qq. N41a, b) Inf MA40, Barge; CT32, Barge wagon, [has] 4 horses, carries kids to school; NH16, Barge holds 20 to 30 people. [All Infs old] 1976 Yankee Sept 106 seMA (as of 1902), [The] barge line to and from all sections of Provincetown leaves hourly.

The school

MA72,

—

—

—

.

—

.

3 See quot. [Perh transf from naut barge container for food storage aboard ship] One of many names 1979 Lewis How to Talk Yankee NEng, Barge for the receptacle into which clams are placed as they are dug out of the .

To

dent observer to

number of

NEng somewhat

bus.

1914 DN 4.69 ME, nNH, Barenaked Usually "All barenaked." 1923 DN 5.201 swMO, He come a-runnin' out jist plumb bare naked. 1942 AmSp 1 7. 30 IN. 1944 PADS 2.24 cwOH, cwNC. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bare-naked Redundant for naked. Not common. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. W20, No clothes on at ") 40 Infs, chiefly Nth, Bareall "They went in swimming .

.

barfish.

.

Words, Barefoot.

bare-naked

.

barge n

&

them fast and did not detain us. 1927 (1944) Russell Trails Plowed Under 142 MT, Barefoot ponies on well-grassed sod travel mighty silent, an' the savages ain't doin' no talkin' except with their hands. 1941 FWP Guide WT459, Barefooted. 1968 Adams Western .

.

fall

of 1957 or the

summer

of 1958.

1965-70

.

.

mudflats.

A big foot, joe Cf canal boat cl960 Wilson Co//.csKY, Barges ... Big

4

feet;

barges on the river sug-

bar-geist

154

barking squirrel

/

DARE

1967-68

gested the figure.

(Qu. X38) Infs LA37, PA76. 94,

SC40. Barges. bar-geist n [Cf Engl dial barghest ghost, Ger Berggeist gnome] 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 6 cPA Mts (as of c 1900). "Bar-Geist." a ghost which frequents bars [=gates] or fields.

bargum n Also ba'gum Pronc-spp for bargain 1905 Culbertson Banjo Talks 145 SE [Black], Dey kin have hit ba'gum. 1917 Torrence Granny Maumee 63 Sth [Black]. Does know when we mek de bargum about you

PADS

1950

47 gunners as

them

off as accuratelv as he

Lake.

cl"960 Wilson Coll.

fast as

they peeped from behind parapets, picking

had "barked" csKY.

back home

squirrels

in Big

To scalp: hence ppl adj barked bald. See also bark n 2 1 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NVV, Barked A man who has lost his hair. 1968 Adams Western Words. Bark An old trapper's 2

— —

word meaning

to scalp.

at a

you

bark a ride v phr In logging: see quot.

buyin' dis heah house?

ibar-head n [Etym unknown] work or

killed

14.74 FL, Bar-head ... A horse that cannot be trained to Cowboy speech.

1950 Western Folkl. 9.123 Pacific NVV, Barking a ride. Peeling a lengthwise strip of bark off a log so that the log will "ride" easily over a skidroad.

to be ridden.

barick n [Prob Engl dial bargh a long low ridge or

hill]

Cf DS

bark-eater n

Among loggers: see quot 1958. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words 7 Pacific NVV, Bark eater a. a logger, 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes. b. A sawmill hand. 1

C17 1916 D.V4.337 csPA, Barick ... the town."

A hill.

"There's a high barick back of

—

2 =porcupine.

bario n

DARE (Qu.

1969

P31) Inf NY 183, Bark-eater.

Seequot 1955.

Gomme Traditional Games

[1894

1

.364. Different kinds of marbles are

stonies.] 1955 PADS 23.1 marble made from barium; hence the name.

alleys, barios.

bark v

.

1

cwTN, Bario

...

A

toy

S Midi now

hist

McNemar KY

Revival 69 OH, KY, TN, VA, wPA, About the latter end of the year 1804. there were regular societies of these people praying, shouting, jerking, barking, or rolling. .

2

Of

.

a dog: to bark with a

animal

is

at

bay or has been

sound indicating

that a pursued

.

.

See barking exercise

1

A

obs See also bark v 2 2 855) Ruxton Life Far West 8, They say he took the bark off the

scalp,

1848

by stripping bark from trees. "Poor Barkers." poor whites. Southern.

living

1.412. Barker:

A noise-making device consisting of a tin can cone of bark) and resin-smeared thread, and attached to a doorknob. See also devil's fiddle, horse fiddle 1905 DX 3.69 nwAR. Barker ... A horse-fiddle attached to a doorknob and pulled at a safe distance. 1946 TN Folk Lore Soc. Bulletin 12.1.21, The noise that can be made only by the blaring of bark horns.

(

1

1

when he

Shians

(orig a

.

cleared out of the village with old Beaver Tail's squaw.

1958 McCulloch Woods Words 8 Pacific NVV, Barkie— A small pole 1968 Times-Std. (Eureka CA) 7 Sept 9/5, Fir barkie poles are ranging from 29 cents to 55 cents per lineal foot. sold with the bark on.

barking bird n

=black-crowned night heron. 1955 MA Audubon 39.312. Black-crowned Xight Heron. Barking its

quok, quok

barking dogs n pi joe Cf DS X38 Tired or aching feet. 1939 AmSp 14.89 cTN, Barking dogs. Aching feet. 1939 Sun (Baltimore MD) 2 Sept 3/6 (Hench Coll.), "Warden's feet," the first occupa-

37. Children

.

.

may

be seen

[going berrying] with baskets, or tin kettles, or barks on their 1957 McMeekin Old KY Country 204. The pole he carries is berries ... A bark is made of a called a "bark" and is a container for poplar trunk about eight inches thick. daily

.

.

arms.

.

.

3 also bark sack: Transf: a cloth bag of bark-like texture. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. F23) Inf TNI 1, Bark sack— very coarse; VA13, Bark.

4

Among loggers:

any outer layer, as a potato peel or pie crust. Pacific NVV [Logger talk], "Chase us some of them

1925 AmSp 1. 137 For dessert he "takes spuds with the bark on (unpeeled potatoes)." on" "open-face pie" or "pie with the bark on." 1958 McCulloch Woods .

Words

Pacific

NW,

Bark

.

.

.

The

.

outside of anything.

5 The hull of a walnut, chiefly NEast 1941 EASE Map 277 (Walnut shell) CT, swME, 3 infs. Bark. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 139) Infs CT21. 39. MA5. NJ31. 50. NY206. OH45, OK17, PA100, 128, Bark. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.307 seMN, 1 inf.

Bark.

bark v 2 1

To kill a squirrel by shooting a bullet into the limb on which it

is sitting,

chiefly

Audubon

1831

one

squirrels .

.

Ornith. Biog. 1.293

KY, [Kentuckians]

will

bark off

another, until satisfied with the number prokilled the animal, and sent it whirling concussion

after

.

—

barking exercise n Also bark [bark to emit a noise resembling the bark of a dog + exercise B] chiefly S Midi, esp KY now hist See also bark v 1 The spasmodic movements of hyperventilation producing ani1

mal-like noises, practiced at certain religious meetings.

1807

McNemar KY Revival

ment from

the jerks

63,

The

and barks, was

quickest

method

to find release-

to engage in the voluntary dance.

1834 Biblical Repertory 6.350, A lady from Tennessee, who brought into a certain part of Virginia the barking exercise, immediately was imitated by certain of those affected with the jerks. 1848 Collins Hist. Sketches 109. Those extraordinary and disgraceful scenes [of 1799] produced which extensively by the jerks, the rolling and the barking exercises persuasions of those days. 1926 Kephart obtained among some Highlanders 344 KY, Thousands of men and women at the camp-meetings [in 1800] fell victims to "the jerks," "barking exercises," erotic vagaries, physical wreckage, or insanity.

KY

.

.

.

.

barking owl n Cf laughing owl

An

S Midi

cured The through the air. 1899 ( 1 9 1 2) Green VA Folk-Speech. 1940 ( 1 978) Still River of Earth 5 KY, Father was so angry he took his rifle-gun and went off into the woods for the day. bringing in four squirrels for supper. He had barked them, firing at the tree trunk beside the animal's heads, and bringing them down without a wound. 1941 FWP Guide AR 327, He .

—

known in the United States as from the war "barking dogs" was dignified with official recognition today by the British Association of Chriopodists [sic]. 1960 Wentworth - Flexner Slang 20. Barking dogs Tired or sore feet. tional ailment to result

MA

Bird

cries.)

1

2 A container made of bark. 1853 Barn- Hist. Sketch Hanover

.

Seequot 1958.

(Vt. In allusion to

bark n 2 1

DX

barkie n

treed.

1908 Roosevelt Outdoor Pastimes 7, He was not a very noisy dog, and when "barking treed" he had a meditative way of giving single barks separated by intervals of several seconds. 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, They fought right down to the butt of the ridge into the flat laurel and commenced barkin'. I thought was treed. 1947 Guthrie BigSkv 12 KY 1970 DARE Jape AR56. He'd (as of C1830). He's just barkin' a coon. begin to bark bay like he had something treed.

bark n

?One who makes a

2 also bark horn:

participate in a barking exercise.

1807

1

1896

1

To

1

.

barker n

.

unidentified owl. 1969 DARE Tape KYI 6, Back then we had barking owl and laughing owl. had .

all

kind of owl.

We

.

barking squirrel n =prairie dog. 1814 Brackenridge Views of LA 239, In the course of my ramble. I happened on a village of barking squirrels, or prairie dogs, as they have been called. 1928 Anthony X. Amer. Mammals 2 1 8, Cynomys ludoviPrairie-dog; Barking Squirrel. cianus and related forms. Xames.

—

9

,

barking wolf

155

barking wolf n obs =coyote n Bl. .

bark ooze n Tree sap used as a cough remedy. 1966 DARE (Qu. BB50) Inf AL4, Bark ooze they

.

call

it— same

as red

bark sack See bark n 3

A

barley exclam Also barley out, barley's out [Prob alter of parley: OED "Sc. and north, dial" See also SND] Cf barley me, borrows 1890 DN 1.60, Barley: a child's word, common in Pennsylvania, meaning to intermit play (for a rest). The opposite is "barley's out." 1917 DN 4.387 neOH, Barley out Call for a truce in children's games. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. EE20, When two boys are fighting, and .

who

is

.

.

losing wants to stop, he calls out,

EE17)

out!; (Qu.

Infs

"

") Infs

name

barley bright n [Blend of barley break, the older English

game (OED), and marlow children's game of chase.

for the

A

OH8,

OH 18, VA30, Barley (out)!

bright or

Molly Bright] .

barleycorn sprints n [(John) barleycorn any alcoholic beverage

+ sprints hasty

visits to

the toilet]

joe

Cf DS BB 1

— Dys-

barley knife See barlow knife

exclam [Perh

rel

to barley]

Cf DS V5b,

118

.

.

.

.

inversion in the

first

barm bosom,

and the old dative

EDD sb. 2

lap; see

]

large quantity.

MA, If a boat returns with a load offish, it has

a 'barm offish.'

barmy

[barm n

adj

1 ;

cf

EDD barmy]

Light-headed; foolish. 1915 DN 4.213, It makes me tired to listen to such barmy folks. 1975 Gould Lingo 5, Although some think barmy (not just right in the derives from this barm, more likely the term is head) Mainers pronounce barm and balm alike. balmy

ME .

.

.

.

.

A

barn v See burn v barnacle n

A slipper shell.

—

The slipper-limpet, 1881 Ingersoll Oyster-Industry 241, Barnacle. At Cape May limpets are called "barnacles", and Crepidula sp 1.328 eNJ, confounded by many with the true barnacles. 1894 Barnacle: in Cape May used incorrectly for limpet found on oysters. .

.

barnacle grass n =eelgrass 1. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 404,

Z.

marina

in the second.

.

.

.

Barnacle-grass.

1940

Barnacle-grass. 1958 Clute Amer. Plant Names 154, Eel-grass Progress (Charlottesville VA) 21 Oct 10/3 (Hench Coll.), Zostera Marina is variously known as eelgrass, tape grass, barnacle grass, wild celery, The short stem of each new and water celery. It flowers underwater plant bears a tuft of slender, grass-like green leaves that may stretch 6 .

In children's games: that's mine! 1956 AmSp 31.37 eMA, First there is the pattern / hosie 'This is mine.' There are the Bags I and Barley me patterns, with colloquial .

A

[Perh from

DN

see quot.

1958McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Barleycorn sprints

me

barm n 2

.

entery following a drunk.

barley

ME

.

—

Among loggers:

1859 Elwyn Glossary, Barme, yeast ... is in common use, in New 1975 Gould Lingo 5, The barm was carefully kept alive and was handed mother to daughter at weddings. Mainers never used the word sourdough too much, although they knew what it was, but their barm-bread was essentially the sourdough of the western prospectors.

barn n See barren

1966 Peden Land 41 IN, Exciting games going on outside Andy Over, Barley Bright, Hide-and-Go-Seek. 1966 DARE File swIN, Barley-bright A type of children's game. .

.

barme [OE beorma, preserved also in Engl dial]

1924 DN 5.288 Cape Cod

In children's games: time out!

WI66, Barley

Hist sp

'

.

Yeast. England.

2

18,

.

barm n

oak police [=poultice].

the one

barlow knife, and every man a shin plaster. 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, eTN. cl960 Inf. cnWI, Barlow knife. 1950 WELS (Large pocket knife) Any knife, but esp. one made by Russell Wilson Coll. csKY, Barlow Barlow. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. F39) 47 Infs, chiefly Sth, Midi, Barlow, 47 Infs, chiefly Sth, Midi, Barlow knife; ALU, OK51, WV14, Barley knife; IN52, VA9, Russell Barlow knife. 1

1867 Amer. Naturalist 1.289, The Prairie or Barking Wolf (Canis in almost latransSay) is by far the most abundant carnivorous animal every part of the West.

barl See barrel

barn burn

/

.

.

.

.

.

feet.

barley out, barley's out See barley

barlow knife n Also barlow penknife, Russell Barlow knife, absol barlow; prone var barley knife [After Russell Barlow, 1 8th-cent Engl knifemaker] chiefly Sth, Midi See Map

A single-bladed

pocket knife.

1906 Documents Revol. Hist. NJ 3.676, To be sold by Stephenson and Canfield, In Morris Town, Barlow penknives, Knives and forks. 1845 Judd Margaret 36 NEng, On the left were cuttoes, Barlow knives, iron candlesticks. 1903 2.305 seMO, 'How will you swap barlows?' is a very common proposition among schoolboys. 1907 3.228 nwAR. 1908 3.289 eAL, wGA. 1915 4.224 wTX, Barlow Now used for any large pocket-knife. cl937 in 1972 Amer. Slave 2.1.207 SC, They give us Christmas Day. Every woman got a handkerchief to tie up her hair. Every girl got a ribbon, every boy a

1779

in

.

.

DN

DN

DN

.

.

DN

.

barnacle mushroom n Also tree barnacle Perh a bracket fungus. 1966-69 DARE(Q\i. SI 9) Inf ME 14, Barnacle mushrooms;

CA

1 1 1

Tree barnacles.

barnyard ball chiefly NEast A children's game in which a ball is thrown against a barn or other building and caught on the rebound. 1841 Daily Picayune (New Orleans LA) 25 May 2/2 neOH, Who has

barn

ball

n Also barn

tick,

not played "barn ball" in his boyhood? 1850 Knickerbocker 35.84 save the 'bassNYC, As we never indulged in a game of chance ball' and 'barn-ball' of our boyhood. 1879 Taylor Summer-Savory never got farther than "barn1 22 NY, The writer knew a boy who ball," which means throwing a ball at the gable and catching it when it returns. 1895 1.384 cN\\Barn ball, a schoolboy's game. 1909 3.408 nME, Barn ball ... A game which consisted of bounding a ball against a barn and catching it. 1969 DARE (Qu. EE 1 1 ) Inf MA73, Barn tick boys threw a ball against the barn and hit it or caught it when it came back usually played by one person; KY66, Barnyard ball. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

DN

DN

—

—

barn boss n 1 The person in charge of a

stable.

Nth

1902 White Blazed Trail 201 MI, So Shearer had picked out a barnboss of his own. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW. 1967 DARE Tape MI42. [The] barn boss was supposed to take care of all the horses at [the] livery stable. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Barn boss A man whose duty was to care for the horses and stables in a logging camp.

—

2 Transf: a dominating wife,

1969 •barlow knife + varr

(Qu. F39)

DARE (Qu.

barn burn n Also

Of tobacco:

AA21)

bam

see quots.

joe

Inf NY86, She's the barn boss. rot,

barn scald

— barn burner

barn

/

stalks.

curing

burn

.

156

lot

PADS 2.64 KY,

1944

barn, caused by too

Barn-rot

.

.

.

The decay of tobacco while

in the

much moisture and too little ventilation among the

1967 Key Tobacco Vocab. 33 TN, A general darkening of the barn caused by excessive moisture in the barn barn scald. leaf

.

.

.

.

.

barn burner n 1 also barn lighter, barn match: A kitchen match; a wooden match which can be struck on any friction surface, chiefly PA, See Map sNJ, 1965-70 DARE (Qu. F46, The kind of matches you can strike anywhere) 27 Infs, PA, sNJ, MD, Barn burners; IA22, PA 1 94, 2 3, Barn matches; PA63, Barn lighter. 1966 DARE File sePA, Barn burners wooden matches with a tip that strikes anywhere.

MD

.

.

1

use in my home community. 1967 Tape PA29, Their pants are all pulled across they call that the barn door, they open the barn doors. They button at the side instead of down the front.

DARE

.

.

b in phr your barn door is open and varr: See quots. (Note: any association with barn door 2a is now generally lost; for additional varr see DS W24c) joe Cf cow barn is open 1928 Ruppenthal Coll. KS, Barn door open— said of little children. To have the rear of lower garments hanging down as if unbuttoned, etc. 1950 WELS (Sly words of warning for a trouser fly open) 30 Infs, throughout WI, (Your) barn door('s) open. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Barn door open! Signal to a man or boy that his trousers fly is undone or a button unhooked. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. W24c) 230 Infs, throughout US, (Your) barn door('s) open; TX27, Barn door open and the owls are coming out; VT12, Barn door open, horse might get out; WA6, Shut the barn door or the sheep will get out. .

3 in

.

A marble game: see quot. DARE (Qu. EE7) Inf NY98, Barn

pi:

1968

together and try to "open the barn doors"

them

- put two marbles between and spread

doors

—

hit

apart.

barned owl n Prob a barn owl. 1967-69

DARE (Qu.

Q2)

Infs

KY21, TNI 3, Barned

Barnegat turkey n [Barnegat town =coot n 1

owl.

in southeastern

New Jersey]

'

AmSp

1956

Barnegat

30.181,

turkey

— American

coot

— N[ew]

J[ersey].

barney clapper n [Var of bonnyclabber] 1

See bonnyclabber.

2 =lily-of-the- valley

1904 2

A

highly successful or enjoyable occasion.

DARE

lily

"We all had a (Qu. FF17, last night. ") Inf burner. 1979 Verbatim Letters IL (as of 1940), Barn burner My wife went back stage at the intermission of one of Jean Kerr's plays to congratulate her on the excellence of her play and used this term to describe its resounding success. Ms Kerr was puzzled and 1968

.

.

MN38, Barn

—

asked what

how

it

meant. Apparently

it

got to

it is

midwest

mean "huge and resounding

barn chamber n [barn

+ chamber B2]

in origin.

I

don't

know

success."

chiefly

NEng, esp ME,

NH A barn

MA Ag.

Surv. Report for 1837 16, The best [=herd's-grass] is to tie it in bundles; and set

1838

method of curing

it

it upright in a barn 882) Stowe Fireside Stories 28 NEng, If you'll come up in the barn-chamber this arternoon I'll tell ye all about it. 1926 AmSp 2.79 ME, The barn loft is likewise the "barn-chamber," even when it consists of mere planking without walls. 1 939 LANE Map 1 02 (Loft; scaffold) 25 infs, chiefly ME, NH, Barn chamber. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 299 Sth, 6 infs, Barn chamber. .

chamber.

1871

.

.

.

also attrib:

Nth Also

triangular tear in a piece of cloth.

winklehawk

.

A wide

a usu

ME

attrib,

.

.

.

on

buttoned at the sides. as barn-door britches, barn-door pants,

front flap

Nth somewhat

—

ME

n Also called hanger

In tobacco farming: a person barn.

1966

who hangs

tobacco in a curing

PADS 45.7 KY, We don't have any one person to be a barn filler;

we just barn

use everybody.

n

fly

=stable fly. 1960 Bailey Resp.

1

like the

R 13)

A

2

1865 (1889) Whitney Gayworthys 256, Skirts were trodden on, and came out at the gathers; and there was more than one "barn-door" rent. 1895 DN 1.383 MA, Triangular tear in cloth Barn-door. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. W27, A three-cornered tear in a piece of clothing) Infs CT8, 30, IA13, MI51, 1 10, NY53, PA74, Barn-door (tear). .

phr

1942 Univ. Studies 56.80, "Like Barney's brig; both main tacks over the foreyard." Used to express a ridiculous state of disorder. 1975 Gould Lingo, Barney's brig Whoever Barney was, he was not a shipshape sailor. The complete expression is: "... like Barney's brig, both main tacks over the foreyard." It means such complete disorder as to be ridiculous.

barn

1965-70

A

called trapdoor,

2

brig, like adj

In a thoroughly disorderly state.

.

barn door n 1

Barney's

.

( 1

The

of the valley.

barn-filler loft.

1.

DN 2.424 Cape Cod MA (as of 1850s), Barney-clapper ...

Inf

DARE

to

PADS 20

but the barn (Qu. R12) 17

MO 19, Barn

KS, Barn flies The house fly looks can bite and the house fly can not. Infs, chiefly Nth, Barn fly (or flies); (Qu. .

.

.

fly

fly.

gnat or midge.

1968-69 Barn

fly

DARE (Qu. R10) InfCA127, Barn flies; (Qu. Rl 1) Inf VA34,

fly.

rustic, rube. Cf DS HH1 DARE FW Addit cwOH, Barn fly — meaning one from rural area.

3 Transf: a 1 970

barn grass See barnyard grass

trousers,

chiefly

old-fash

1885 Cable Dr. Sevier 297 LA, The bulky contents of his high-waisted, barn-door trowsers now bulged out. 1940 FWP Guide 519, Dunkard couples are often met wearing the traditional dress: the man in a long black coat, flat-brimmed hat, 'barn door pants' that button up the side, and plain-toed shoes. 1942 Whipple Joshua 1 7 UT (as of cl 860), Abijah, as befitted his superior dignity, clung to his black barn-door trousers (he considered the front closing immodest) and cloth frock coat. 1945 AmSp 20.231 MA, A friend of a generation gone (18401916) told me about trousers, the front of which had an oblique row of buttonholes on each side, by means of which a large flap could be let down. This was the 'barn door,' giving origin to 'barn-door' trousers. 1947 AmSp 22.72 celA, 'Barn-door britches' was in common

OH

.

.

.

barn hawk n 1970 DARE (Qu. Q4) Inf NJ69, Barn chicken hawk. barnitis See

hawk— very

near the same as

-itis

barn lighter See barn burner

1

swallow n =barn swallow 1.

barn-loft

Other Names.— 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 3.86, Barn Swallow. American Barn Swallow; Barn-loft Swallow. 1944 Hausman Amer. .

.

Birds 527.

barn lot n chiefly Midi, Sth See Map and Map Section See also 1949 Kurath Word Geog. fig 62 =barnyard 1.

—

I,

barn martin

157

1724

in

1914

NH

&

Prov.

State Papers 32.250,

I

Give to

my

Daugh-

the other half part of my afores[aid] Barn Lott in Salsbury. 1867 were feeding their horses in the Crawford Mosby 78 VA, His men ters

.

.

.

barn-lot of a farm.

1905

DN 3.69

.

nwAR.

1949 Hornsby Lonesome

KY, Johnny watched two bluebirds build

a nest in a knothole barn lot. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 40 From the Rappahannock southward lot, barn lot, stable lot are the usual terms for the barnyard, and these expressions are current in all of the South Midland as well as in parts of northern West Virginia, but not in the Shenandoah Valley. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. M13) 102 Infs, chiefly Midi, Sth, Barn lot; (Qu. M14) 92 Infs, chiefly Midi, Sth, Barn lot. 1973 Allen 1.189, Barnlot [is] almost limited to the South Midland speech area of southern Iowa.

Valley 56

in the gatepost over at the

.

.

LAUM

/

barnyard

1856 T.D. Price MS. Diary 28 April (DAE), Went to D.D. Keller's barn 1872 Eggleston End of the World 51 IN, I never went to a barn-raising, nor indeed to any of our rustic feasts. 1907 DN43S1 IA, KY, NH, NY, neOH, VT, Barn-raising ... A bee for the purpose of setting in place the bents of a barn already framed. 1965-70 DARE Kinds ofparties) 17 Infs, chiefly Nth, Barn raisings; IN45, (Qu. FF2, MI 106, Barn raising bees; NY36, Barn raising parties [ 1 8 of 20 Infs old]; (Qu. FF1 ) Infs IN32, TX33, Barn raising; (Qu. L5) Infs NY92, 2 1 3, Barn raising(s); NY1, Barn raising bee. 1971 Foxfire Spring- Summer 100 neGA, We had a house raisin' t' raise this house, and we had a barn raisin' raising.

.

.

.

t'

.

.

.

raise th' barn.

A quilt pattern: see quots. Cf log cabin 1967 DARE FW Addit swOR, Barn raising— quilt pattern [illustr in text shows a pattern of concentric squares, the sides of which are different colored stripes]. 1979 WI Then & Now July 7, Patterns of folded narrow strips set in rectangles usually are made of wool and usually have red wool squares in the center of the blocks, some say to represent the red brick chimney of a cabin. Variations, created by different color layouts [include] "Barn Raising." A large "Barn Raising" in wool was made about 1886 by Cynthia Dorcas Case. 2

.

barn

.

.

.

barn scald See barn burn

rot,

barn snake n Prob =milk snake 1. [1958 Conant Reptiles & Amphibians Eastern Milk 170, Snake Sometimes called "house snake," but "barn snake" would be more descriptive, for it would reflect the frequency with which farm .

.

.

buildings are entered in search of rodents.]

IL8

barn martin n esp KY, =barn swallow 1.

MO, TN

1932 Bennitt Check-list 44 MO, Barn swallow. Hirundo erythrogaster... Barnmartin. 1967-70£>AR£(Qu.Q14)InfsCA105,KYll,65,

M03, TNI,

Barn martin; (Qu. Q20)

Infs

KY5,

53, 75,

1

2 =saw-whet owl. 1888 (1890) Warren Birds PA 152, This pigmy mass of owl-life is, I suppose, the species which was regarded as not destructive to poultry and game, by the author of the "Scalp Act," when he introduced therein a clause exempting "The Arcadian Screech or Barn Owl."

3 also barred barn owl: The barred owl. 1927 Forbush Birds MA 2.202, Barred Owl. Other names: Barn Owl (Maine). 1955 MA Audubon 39.81, Barred Owl. Barn Owl (Maine. From its occasionally taking shelter in barns. ). 1968 DARE (Qu. Q2) Inf VA8, Barred barn owl eats chickens.

—

of var other owls which sometimes frequent barns: see

1966-69

—

DARE

(Qu. Ql) Inf CA130, Barn owl or screech owl believe they're the same animal; (Qu. Q2) Inf AR10, Barn owl, horned owl [are the] same; CA120, Hoot owl same as barn owl; IA8, Barn owl same as a screech owl; IL38, Barn owl same thing as hoot owl; NJ52, Cat owl [same as] barn owl; NY52, Hoot owl or barn owl; OH6 1 Barn owl and hoot owl are same thing; VA8, Barn owl = hoot owl.

—

—

—

barn pe wee n [Seequot 1956] The eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe).

brown

DARE (Qu.

1969

like garter snake,

P25) Inf not too large.

common

swallow (Hirundo erythrogaster) which nests structures. Also called barn-loft swallow, swallow, fork-tailed swallow, meadow swallow

and similar field

2 =cliff swallow.

[From

nesting

its

on the outside of barns and

similar structures]

1917 ( 1923) Birds Amer. 3 .84, Cliff Swallow Other Names.— Ewe Swallow; Jug Swallow: Barn Swallow. 1944 Hausman/lmer. Birds 527, Swallow, Barn See Swallow, Cliff. 1953 Jewett Birds WA 449, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota aprophata Other names: Barn Swallow. .

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

barn-tender n In tobacco farming: see quot 1944. 1944 PADS 2.64 KY, Barn-lender ... A person who barn while the tobacco

bam

is

being cured.

1966

takes care of the

PADS 45.7 KY.

tick See barn ball

barny adj

Of milk:

see quot.

1968-69 DARE (Qu. K14, Milk that has a cow ate in the pasture "That milk is .

.

from ensilage: MA68, Barny |'bani| about the way he handles the milk.

—

if [the]

taste from ")

Inf

something the

NY 109, Barny

farmer wasn't too fussy

1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 2.198, Phoebe Other Names. Barn 1932 Bennitt Check-list 43, Eastern phoebe Barn pewee. MA Audubon 40.83, Eastern Phoebe. Barn Pewee (Maine, Mass. It sometimes nests on beams in bams; "pewee" sonic). .

.

.

.

.

.

.

barn preacher See barnyard preacher

A

social gathering for the

chiefly Nth,

N

Midi old-fash

N

.

.

Midi, esp NEast, Barnyard; (Qu. M14) 338 Infs, West, Barnyard. 1973 Allen LA 1.189, The New England and North Midland term barnyard is common in the eastern half of the U[pper] M[idwest], although some distinctions of meaning Infs. chiefly

purpose of erecting a

.

.

Nth,

chiefly Nth, Midi,

barn raising n also attrib:

N

1 The area adjacent to a barn, widespread, but chiefly Nth, Midi, West See Map and Map Section Cf barn lot 1663 in 1887 Huntington NY Town Rec. 1.54 seNY, All my right and titell of house, house lott, barn yards, garden. 1789 in 1835 MA Hist. Soc. Coll. 4.145, As this will always be a grazing country, the manure from the barn yard will be a fruitful source. 1852 Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 1 .92. The whole party made a descent into a barn-yard belonging to a large farming establishment. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 55, The yard adjoining or surrounding the barn is regularly called barn yard north of the Potomac ... It seems that barn yard is on the way to Somenation-wide currency. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Barn-yard what literary in the area. 1960 PADS 34.64 CO, Barnyard [is most common among younger speakers]. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Ml 3) 362 .

Pewee. 1956

1

eat insects,

barnyard n

quots.

barn,

Std: a

barn martin,

owl 2

—

barn swallow n in barns

1 Std: a long-legged owl (Tyto alba) distinguished by a white, heart-shaped face, reddish-brown to buffy upper plumage, and white or bufiy under plumage; native to most of the United States. Also called baboon owl, church owl, degati owl, golden owl, hoot owl, man-faced owl, monkey-faced owl, poker face, rat owl, snake owl, snowy owl 2, tawny owl, white-faced owl, white

Any

Barn snakes

Barn martin.

barn owl n

4

,

barn sparrow n Also barnyard sparrow Prob an English sparrow. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Q21) 18 Infs, esp N Cent, Upper MW, Barn sparrow; FL7, Barnyard sparrow; NE8, Common barn sparrow; (Qu. Q22) KY65, NE4, Barn sparrow.

1

barn match See barn burner

1

CM

.

barnyard

appear

.

.

ball

.

bar

/

158

pit

with barnyard then referring to open area

.

.

and barn lot to a

fenced-in enclosure, or with the two terms referring simply to different parts of the land near a barn.

DARE FW

1967

Addit

swOR, Barnyard

relation;

WA,

Barnyard relation— Same as

relation

.

.

.

shirttail

seventy-second cousin, or

so.

^barnyard salad n joe Manure.

DARE(Qu. LI 7)

1968

Inf

PA71, Barnyard

salad.

barnyard sparrow See barn sparrow barnyard trots n =backdoor trot 1

DARE (Qu.

1970

AR56, Barnyard

bar

BB19, Joking names for looseness of the bowels) Inf

trots.

S Midi Cf side v away from the sides of crop

v phr chiefly Sth,

off

To plow

or hoe soil

the roots in a narrow ridge. 1835 Ingraham South-West 2.283 there are several ploughs "barring Illustr.

Mag. 13.111/1 LA,

consists in "barring off," or

•barnyard

(Qq. M13,

1

Manure from a barn, used as fertilizer. ?Gulf States 1965-70 DARE(Qu. LI 7) InfsAL31, TX 105, Barnyard; MSI, izer, cow shit, barnyard; MS58, Manure, barnyard, dung.

Fertil-

See barn ball

ball

^barnyard bed n Inf, cWI, 1 950 WELS (A bed that is made up the wrong way as a joke) beans and rice [are concealed] under [the] lower sheet. Barnyard bed 1

—

barnyard expression n Also barnyard language, Coarse or vulgar language.

FW

~

moving

—

—

The game of quoits

or horseshoes. 1929 AmSp 5.71 NE, Their "pitching horseshoes," sometimes called "barnyard golf," is a common pastime. 1938 FWP Guide IA 383, Horseshoe pitching has been a favorite recreation, mainly for older men, since pioneer days. "Barnyard golf old timers renamed it when golf was becoming popular. 1939 LANE Map 199, CT, MA, VT, 15 infs, Barnvard golf offered as jocular or 'newfangled' names for the game of quoits. 1965-68 DARE (Qu. EE37) Infs NC38, PA104, UT3. Barnyard golf. 1968 DARE FW Addit swVA, Barnyard golf— horseshoes. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.248 MN, IA, 4 infs, Barnyard golf. .

barnyard grass n Also barn grass A common annual grass (Echinochloa crusgalli). Also called blue duck food, cattail, cocksfoot grass 2, cockspur 2, corn grass 3, duck millet, goose grass, redshank, rice cousin, shank grass, watergrass, whiteshank, wild millet, wild rice Barn grass. crus-calli [sic] 1822 Eaton Botany 372, Panicum [grows in] wet places, 1843 Torrey Flora NY2A24, Barnyard Grass and about barnyards: common; the rough-sheathed variety along ditches near the saltwater. 1895 U.S. Dept. Ag. Farmers' Bulletins 28.24, Barn 1966-70 DARE grass, barnyard grass, cocksfoot. Panicum crus-galli. (Qu. S9) Infs IL19, PA 104, VA59, WA6, Barnyard grass; NYl48, Barn grass; VT4, Barn grass grows up about a foot high, has large brown seed pod, grows fast; VT13, Barn grass. .

.

.

.

.

.

A silverleaf (here:

Leucophyllum frutescens).

1936 Whitehouse TX Flowers 131, Leucophyllum texanum ... It is a transformed overnight into a startling and lovely sight to see a hillside delicate hue of lavender. This happens shortly after heavy rains, and for this reason the plant is sometimes called barometer bush. 1965 Teale Wandering Through Winter 150, All across Texas, a host of other picturesque names have been bestowed on the wild plants of the state. and to shame vine, barometer bush They run from angel's trumpet .

.

DARE FW Addit TX99, term

for

Barnyard pipe "corncob pipe."

.

.

bar pin n Cf beauty pin A kind of brooch. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. W35)

Infs

AL30, AR52, MS70, TX42, Bar

bar

n [Prone var of barrow

pit

pit]

See also bar ditch, barrow

=barrow pit 1 chiefly West See Map and Map Section 1949 PADS 11.17 CO, Bar ditch, bar pit ... The ditch by the side of an freOR, Barrow-pit 1950 AmSp 25.85 road. upgraded shortens to bar-pit. 1958 PADS 30. 1 1, Bar-pit and its varquently 1

.

.

.

.

.

iants ... are clearly a feature of the southwestern quarter of the

Midwest.

1965 - 70

Upper

DARE (Qu. N24, A ditch along the side ofa graded

.

.

West, Bar pit; (Qu. N25) Inf C03, Bar pit [ 1 7 of 19 1966 Silver City Enterprise (NM) 17 Mar 4/3, The drive through the Burro Mountains was very pretty, most of the snow is gone and clear water is trickling down the bar pits. 1971 Wood Vocab. road)

1

8 Infs, chiefly

Infs old].

— old-fashioned but

still

unprofessional or part-time lay preacher. 1805 Fessenden Democracy Unveiled 184 MA, We always possessed a violent antipathy to your bawling, itinerant, field and barn preachers. 1970 DARE (Qu. CC10) Inf TN66, Barnyard preacher.

distant relation.

pin.

ditch

An

A

.

[All Infs old]

barnyard preacher n Also barn preacher

barnyard relation n

.

kiss-me-and-I'll-tell-you.

Q2) Inf IA14, Barnyard owl.

barnyard pipe n 1970

roots of the

— old-fashioned.

owl.

common

work

spring,

away from the

FW

barnyard owl n

DARE (Qu.

1887 Century

first

DN

—

1967

the dirt

many hoe-hands

called.

In the stubble-fields the

DN

weeds

barnyard golf n chiefly Nth joe

=barn

is

barometer bush n

—

.

it

cane with plows and hoes. 1893 Shands Speech 19, When nearly all of the dirt is ploughed away from the cotton, so that the cotton-plant stands on a narrow ridge of ground, the cotton is said to be barred off. 3.220 nwAR, Bar off 1954 1902 2.228 sIL, Bar off. 1907 Harder Coll. cwTN, Bar off corn ... To turn the cultivator disks outward away from the row of corn ... It is said that a boy is a man when he can "bar off corn"; the task is rather exacting. 1966 DARETape GA1, Take a Hammond plow and bar it off. That's to pull your dirt away from 1970 DARE Addit KY84, Barring off— "throw dirt away" from it. the rows of tobacco plants in the middle of the row to cover and kill

talk

language not Addit seNY, Barnyard expression 1968 DARE considered proper in the best circles; or slang. 1982 DARE File cwCA, off-color dirty language; swMI, Barnyard talk Barnyard language or coarse language.

.

there are

If

MS

M14)

2

barnyard

MS,

off" as

plants, leaving

•bar

pit

1

(Qq. N24. N25}

2

,

barrabara

159

Change

A

53,

ditch provided in the course of such grading ... in

Mississippi. Louisiana,

and Arkansas

bar pit.

it is

= bar row pit 2. IA, Railroad construction 1950 AmSp 25.85 OR. 1958 PADS 30. bar-pit to refer to an excavation from which gravel is workers use 2

1

.

1

.

taken to build up the roadbed. This excavation is not necessarily near to Fairly large body offresh the roadbed. 1965-68 DARE (Qu. C4a, water) Inf LA20, Bar pits ['bo,pits] back of the levee; (Qu. CI 4, A stretch of still water going off to the side from a river or lake) Inf AR55, Bar pit where they dug the levee; (Qu. C27, A hillside or deep hole [ba:pit] gravel and clay taken from where stone is taken out) Inf FL2 1 [bar] pit Addit AR52, Bar [for] sand. 1967 DARE it; FL27, Bar pit where they took out material to make a levee. pits .

—

—

—

,

—

.

FW

barrack n [Abbr for hay barrack] chiefly NY, C Atl A roofed structure supported by poles, used for storage of hay (and occas other crops); a large stack of hay. 1697 in 1852 MunseW Annals Albany 3.27 NY, Desyred yt his Estate of Lands, houses, Barns, Berghs, &c, should be apprized by indifferent good men. 1756 in 1941 Woodward Ploughs & Politicks 371 NJ, A ft. Plate 5 posted contains 166 superficial square feet & 1 ft. high will hold a load of hay Settled or being 1 5 ft. high will hold 1 and 1/2 load. 1854 Harper's Mag. 9.849/2, We crept slyly around a 'barrack,' as it is called, of standing hay, and by the pegs at a corner-post

Barrack of 10 1

we climbed up to the top of the hay-mow. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 54, The Dutch settlement area (western Long Island and the Hudson and Mohawk valleys) has barrack, a term of Dutch origin. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. L14, A large pile of hay stored outdoors) Inf PA127, Barracks; (Qu. BuildMl, Special kinds of barns) Inf NJ10, Barrack; (Qu. M22, ings onfarms) Inf DC8, Barracks = tobacco barn; can be used for hay; boards are vertical; VA33, Barracks used to store hay, apples, and fodder; old-fashioned. 1973 Allen LA 1.185, Barrack appears, once in the speech of a Duluth [Minnesota] woman of European parentage, who identifies its meaning as a haypile surmounted by a protective sliding roof supported on four poles. .

.

.

.

.

.

—

UM

barracuda n Std: a fish of the family Sphyraenidae, esp of the genus Sphyraena. For names of var spp see cuda, saltwater muskellunge, saltwater pike, scooter, sea tiger

SW

barranca n Also sp barranco [Span] A deep gully or ravine. [1836 Latrobe Rambler in Mexico 182, Cuernavaca

.

1

.

—

barranca bush n A California shrub (Ceanothus verrucosus). Van Dersal Native Woody Plants 1938 verrucosus Barranca bush ... shrub; flowers January -April. .

.

.

A

Usu

I'baerel, 'berall;

also

(Sg for plural; cf Intro "Language Changes" II. 7) 1909 DA' 3.392 nwAR, We made nine barl of soggum (sorghum). 1958 PADS 29.7 TN, That field made 40 barrel of corn. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, We made ten barrel of corn to the acre.

[From the shape]

A

succulent spiny plant of the genera Echinocactus or FewAlso called bisnaga, cactus; native to the desert Southwest. compass cactus, fishhook cactus, Indian melon, pincushion cactus, traveller's friend. For other names of var spp see beehive cactus, cottontop cactus, devil's head, devil's pincushion, eagle claws, fishhawk cactus, hedgehog cactus, horse crippler, Mexican fireball, niggerhead cactus, pineapple cactus, strawberry cactus, turban cactus, turk's head 1896 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 9.188, Echinocactus Wislizeni barrel cactus. 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 306, Barrel Cactus Echinocactus Wislizeni. 1924 Austin Land of Journeys 'Ending 1 26 AZ, Ocotillo and sahuaro are to be found growing together and with them the bisnaga or barrel-cactus, which the stranger frequently mistakes for a young sahuaro. 1970 Correll Plants TX 1 103, Ferocactus Wislizenii Southwestern Barrel Cactus. Ibid, Echinocactus Barrel Cactus. 1973 AZ Highways March 33, Because the Barrel more than any other cactus inclines toward the southwest, it makes a foolproof compass. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

barrel-dogging vbl n Cf bulldog v 2 sweat v ,

In moonshining: heating used whiskey barrels to extract whiskey

which has been absorbed by the wood; hence barrel-dogger, barrel-sweater one who heats barrels in such a way. 1954 Courier-Jrl. (Louisville KY) 25 Apr mag sec 7/2 eKY, It only takes a second for the barrel doggers to recover from their surprise at the

sudden appearance of the revenue agents. Ibid 8/1, Barrel dogwas tried on a small scale back in 1 940 but it died out until started their Christmas just last October. Then, when the distilleries bottling, a real rash of barrel dogging broke out. 1957 McMeekin Old KY Country 1 3 1 eKY, Now and again a big ring or conspiracy of "barrel sweaters" is rounded up [by officers of the law]. (Barrels recently drained of bonded bourbon are bought up and steamed to coax about a gallon of "spirits" per barrel which had been absorbed by the wood.) 1963 Carson Social Hist. Bourbon 109 KY, "Barrel dogging" involves "sweating" bourbon out of tightly closed barrels by steaming the barrel. After three or four hours of heating, the whiskey is tapped out and filtered The proof is often quite high, the color likewise, and the whiskey is good. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

=bittern.

Ceanothus

91,

small to large, wide-spreading

1917 Wilson Bulletin 29.2, In order to have in one place a fairly complete catalog of nicknames for the bittern, I have gathered the following from various sources: barrel-maker, Michigan. 1925 (1928) Forbush Birds MA 1.315, Botaurus lentiginosus .. Other names: Barrel-maker. 1955 MA Audubon 39.313, American bittern Barrel-maker (Mass. The notes suggest resonant hammering.). .

somewhat

Barrell to contein five of the

barrel-maker n [See quot 1955]

barred barn owl See barn owl 3 barrel n

The

.

is most nobly on a tongue of land, girdled on three sides by tremendous barrancas.] 1892 DN 1 87 TX, Barranca: a deep ravine with very steep banks and without water at the bottom except in the rainy season The form barranco is applied to a bluff or to the steep bank of a river. 1907 White AZ Nights 87, So we went along, me on the rim-rock and around the barrancas, and Larry in the bottom carryin' of the kid. 1932 DN 6.223 AZ, CA, NM. 1968-70 DARE(Qu. N24, A ditch along the side of a graded road) Inf CA 176, Barranca [ba'renka] if large; (Qu. C21) Inf CA36, Barranca. 1971 Bright Word Geog. CA & NV 102. .

1.108,

2 Barrels.

ging

situated,

.

ofMD

saidBushell& nomoreorlesse. 1788 in 1793 Amer. Philos. Soc. Trans. 3.226, A barrel is a measure of five bushels, much used in Virginia. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 75, A barrel of corn is five bushels of corn in the ears, or unshelled. 1903 DN 3.306 seMO. 1917 DN 4.421 eLA, Barrel ... In measuring maize, a bushel. "Three shakes and a heap" make a barrel. 1955 AmSp 30.76 cwTN, A barrel of corn is the standard measurement. Corn always goes by the barrel, instead of by the bushel. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Barrel ... A measure, usually five bushels.

barrel cactus n

barrabara, barrabkie See barabara

& 2/

1641 in 1883 Archives

barren

/

old-fash

|barl|;

occas

Pronc-spp barl, berril, bor'l Forms. cl820 W.C. Bryant in 1941 AmSp 16.157 NYC, Barl— barrel. 1861 Holmes Venner 379 wMA, Not if he's got a double-berril gun. 1891 DN |ba:l|

.

.

.

.

barrel of

snakes n

A

In var proverbial phrr: see quots.

1.118

"/ wouldn't trust him ") Inf (Qu. V2b, of snakes; (Qu. V7, A person who sets out to cheat others while pretending to be honest) Inf GA89, He is as crooked as a barrel of snakes; (Qu. 1126, ")Inf "I wouldn't know him from AR5 A barrel of snakes.

cNY [barl].

for barrel.

1893 Shands

MS Speech, Barl [barl]. Illiterate white

Negroes generally call barrel

.

.

[bad].

Immigrants from North

DN

Carolina nearly always say barl. 1906 3.115 sIN, Barrel, pronounced barl. 1909 3.392 nwAR, Barl. 1935 AmSp 10.295 Upstate NY, Barrel 106 [instances of [e] as against] 135 [instances of [ae]]. 1940 Richter Trees 225 OH, I got to keep takin' my bor'l off.

DN

.

1940

AmSp

1

5.85

[Black], Barrel

B 1

.

.

.

.

neTN, [kraeudid wi5 baralz]. 1941

AmSp

16. 10

eTX

[ba:l].

measure

for corn, usu

lb for related senses)

1

5,

DARE

.

.

.

1

.

On a barrel

.

.

,

barrel pipe n

Cf ASD29

A

pipe carrying rainwater from the roof to a barrel. 1966 Wilson Coll. csKY, Barrel pipe downspout. .

.

.

barrel-sweater n See barrel-dogging

Senses.

A

1967-69

LA

one or

five bushels.

chiefly Midi,

Sth

(See

DA

barren n Usu barrel

I'baeran, 'beren|,

Std senses, var form.

occas |barn|

Pronc-sp barn

—

.

barren heath

barrow

/

DN 2.306

1903 Wilson

160

pit

seMO, Barrens

csKY, Barren County

Coll.

.

often

.

pronounced bams.

sometimes,

is

among the

cl960

older ones,

/barn/.

=beach heather. 1951 Hough Singing

Morning

— also

Beach heather popularly as barren heath, ground cedar, poverty plant and in

39,

known

false heather.

barren hen n [See quot 1895] A heath hen 1 or prairie chicken 1 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 136, Other old names are Barren Hen [etc.]. [1895 Minot Land-Birds New Engl. 405, The Pinnated Grouse choose dry, wooded soils for their haunts, such as are called "barrens."] 1953 AmSp 28.281 NJ, PA, KY, Barren hen. Pinnated .

grouse.

.

.

.

.

.

SW

.

.

.

.

2 =bear oak. 1908 Britton N. Amer. Trees 297 Bear Oak ',

also

known

ilicifolia

.

.

his

as Barren oak.

barrens oak See barren oak

1

known

its

similarity to Waldsteinia,

as barren strawberry]

=cinquefoil (here: esp Potentilla canadensis and P. norvegica). Barren 1837 Darlington Flora Cestrica 303, PfotentillaJ canadensis Strawberry. 1896 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 9. 1 87 ME, MA, Potentilla Norvebarren strawberry. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 303, gica Barren Barren Strawberry. Ibid 304, P. Norvegica Potentilla, Strawberry. 1966 DARE Wildfl QR P1.92a Inf NY91, Barren straw.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

berry.

pillar,

than ordinary, the ground

Barrier

[N Engl

dial]

Also called entry

left at

7, Barrier-pillars. Pillars

(pillar)

.

.

barrio n [Span]

.

when

PADS 59.25 OH, PA, MD, nVVV,

a particularly large pillar of coal .

of coal, larger

intervals to prevent too extensive crushing

comes to be robbed. 1973

opening of entries

left at

the crossing or

for extra roof support.

chiefly

SW

A

Spanish-speaking community or neighborhood in an American city; a Latino or Chicano district. 1939 Time 13 Mar 78/2 NYC, At 110th Street, Manhattan's sveltly starched Fifth Avenue passes the extreme northeast tip of Central Park,

— —

plunges into a new world the teeming, Spanish-speaking slums, or barrio, of Lower Harlem. [1945 5.85 Puerto Rico, The barrio is a region of indefinite size as much as a hundred square miles in the country, as little as a few blocks in the city.] 1954 Burma SpanishSpeaking Groups 88, Always in the Southwest and commonly throughout the rest of the United States, the Mexican lives in a segregated section of town. He calls it the barrio or the colonia; Anglos call it "Mextown," "Spiktown," "Little Mexico," or some such term. 1955 Holiday Oct 1 1 7 AZ, The other day I happened to go to North Meyer Street [in Tucson]. It lies in a barrio of narrow streets marked with little corner grocery stores and flanked with ragged palms and old adobe houses. 1966 Time 24 June 30/3 Chicago IL, On Division Street, main stem of the barrio that holds the majority of Chicago's Puerto Rican population, people drooped languidly from tenement windows and crowded the front stoops. 1978 Moore Homeboys 1 2 SW, It is equally necessary that the concept of urban ghetto expand to include the shacktowns, enclaves and barrios of the Sunbelt cities. These "new" ghettos have a historical origin and ecological linkage quite different from the older, decayed central city slums of the Chicago type. 1980 Folb Runnin' Down 100 sCA, I was conducting a communication workshop with some community people from the East Los Angeles barrio. .

.

.

.

Bunk-room

in a logging

.

.

room

.

.

Term used

.

more

occasionally in lake states,

New

often in

England.

barroom man n

Among loggers:

chiefly

NEng

a chore boy, flunky

1

.

1938 (1939) Holbrook Holy Mackinaw 258 NEng, Barroom man. Common name for a bullcook. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo 1

NEng, Gt Lakes, Bar room man

— A chore boy,

bull cook, flunky.

See barrow ditch

1

Usu

also attrib

,

barrer, barrey, barruh,

I'baero, 'bero|; also I'baraH

Pronc-spp

borrow See also bar n 4

Std senses, var forms. 1899 ( 9 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, Borrow ... A gelt hog. 1908 DN 3.289 eAL, wGA, Barrow ['bar;*]. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 289 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Barruh a bacon hog. 1927 AmSp 2.348 cWV, Barrey hog ... A castrated hog. "That barrey hog will weigh two hundred pounds." 1929 AmSp 5.127 coastal ME, 1

1

.

.

.

.

"Barrer"

.

.

.

pigs.

barrow ditch n Also, by folk-etym, borrow ditch; rarely barrow [EDD 752 -c 1900, "Obs."; see also barrow pit] Cf bar ditch 1 and see Map Section =barrow pit 1. 1927 Ruppenthal Coll. KS, Often along the railroad right of way we see hollows where earth was dug up to raise the grade or level of .

.

These are "barrows" in railroad parlance. 1950 [see barrow pit 1 ]. 1963 Owens Look to River 73 nTX, Jed went down through the borrow ditch. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. N24, A ditch along the side of a graded road) Infs TN36, UT1 5, Barrow ditch; AR5 1 Borrow ditch, pit [FW: [bar] or ['bare], depending on context]; CO 16, OK 18, Borrow ditch; OK52, Some newspapers say bar ditch or barrow, but that's wrong; where they borrow dirt to make the road; TN34, ['bare] it's borrow tracks

.

.

.

,

ditch.

n Also, by folk-etym, borrow pit [Prob from barrow of earth; for folk-etym see quot 1 950] See also barrow ditch, bar ditch, bar pit

barrow

entry stump

In coal mining: see quots. 1881 Raymond Gloss. Mining

.

—

barrer, barrey See barrow n 2

barrier n Also barrier pillar

quot 1914.

ME, nNH, Bar-room

1

barren strawberry n [Prob from also

— Quercus

.

4.68

NEng

see

1938 (1939) Holbrook Holy Mackinaw 258, Barroom. That part of a New England camp where the loggers sleep. 1942 Rich We Took to " "Oh, not that kind of a barroom. It's Woods 198 ME, "Barroom? where the men [=loggers] sleep." 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo, Bar

barrow n 2

1785 Marshall Arbustrum 120, Quercus alba minor. Barren White 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 174, Quercus mariOak. 1927 Barren Oak (Kans., Tenn.) Barrens Oak (Fla.). landica Quercus marilandKeeler Our Native Trees 370, Barren Oak Grows on sandy barrens. 1960 Vines Trees 183, Quercus ica marilandica Barren Oak. Also known by the vernacular names of .

DN

barrow n

barren oak n [See quot 1927] 1 also barrens oak: =blackjack oak.

chiefly

Among loggers: 1914 camp.

barren heath n

.

barroom n

AN&Q

pit

a

mound

1

rarely

burrow

pit:

A

roadside drainage ditch,

chiefly

West,

Mts See Map and Map Section 1931 AmSp 7. 120 elD, A barrow pit is a ditch along the road. 1949 PADS 11.17 CO, Barrow pit ... A few people say it is a ditch edged with 1950 AmSp 25.85 OR, Barrow-pit is a mound or barrow of dirt. common in road-making, to mean the ditch or excavation beside a esp Rocky

roadway. called 'bar

Ibid 165 CO, pit,' 'borrow

The

ditch by the side of an upgraded road

pit,'

'barrow

pit,'

is

'bar ditch,' 'borrow ditch,'

One informant ex'barrow ditch,' 'grader ditch,' and 'gutter.' plained that barrow meant the mound of earth formed when the pit was dug. A few informants connect barrow with the wheelbarrow probably used to carry away the dirt. Informants who use borrow pit explain that the dirt is borrowed from one place to be used in another. The word pit is .

•barrow

pit

1

+

varr

(Qu. N24)

.

.

.

a

5

'

barruh

161

much more frequent than ditch or glitter. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Borrow pit ... A ditch or hole by the roadside from which dirt has been removed to build the road. Very modern and rare in use. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. N24, A ditch along the side ofa graded road) 25 Infs, chiefly West, esp Rocky Mts, Barrow pit [21 Infs old]; CA91, C033, 35, NV2, OR Borrow pit; CA36, Borrow pit in Montana it's called that; ditch always use], in California; C07, Bar pit [Inf: occas], barrow pit [Inf: borrow pit [Inf: old-fash]; CO20, ['bo.ro] pit; C047, Burrow [b3K)] pit. 1968 Hungry' Horse News (Columbia Falls MT) 20 Dec 10/5, Brown tried to avoid contact and ended up in the borrow pit. 1973 Allen 1

—

,

I

LAUM

1.272, Ditch the man-made depression for drainage along a graded road. For some inf[ormant]s in the western sector of the U[pper] M[idwest] especially in Nebraska the equivalent term is borrow pit. .

.

.

.

.

.

2 A place from which material for construction has been excavated and which, esp in the Gulf States, often fills with water. cl940 Newman Conserv. Notes 5 neLA, The barrow-pits at the base of the nearby levee harbored large flocks of ducks. 1940 Sun (Baltimore MD) 6 Apr 22/1 (Hench Coll.), Dry fill from a nearby borrow pit is placed in the holes to bring the surface up to grade. 1950 AmSp 25.85 OR, Occasionally the meaning is extended, evidently through Western folk-etymology, to include any excavation made for the purpose of securing fill material. So barrow-pit is used to describe the sources of material for an earth-fill dam. 1958 PADS 30. 1 1 IA, Barrow pit borrow pit. 1962 Faulkner Reivers 65 MS, Grandfather had added the tin bucket to fill the radiator when we passed creeks or barrow pits. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. CI 4, A stretch of still water going off to the side from a river or lake) Inf MS45, ['bars] pit; (Qu. N24) Inf OH27, Borrow pit a lake formed by fill taken out to raise the road; [the fill is] borrowed, [hence] "borrow pit." 1968 DARE FW Addit Providence LA, Borrow pit. A place from which dirt has been removed for a levee. "The old river beds and borrow pits along the Mississippi River." .

.

.

.

—

—

ME

barvel n [Prob 1

MA

these 3 shipps

.

.

lynes, hookes, knives, bootes,

.

sic-a-nine-ten.

1907

U

2 in phr barvel and boots: See quot. Cf DS 1 Lingo 7, Other men in the crew had to provide (or find) 1975 Gould their own gear, but the skipper provided barvel and boots to the one on salt duty. Today, occasional reference to "barvel and boots" means a little frosting on the cake; a special consideration.

ME

barway n

NEng

chiefly

A driveway or gateway closed by bars; the bars themselves. 1863 864) Mitchell My Farm 207 NEng. Broken bar-ways have been ( 1

new ones. 1884 Century Illustr. Mag. 7.218/1 NY, Lines and boundaries are disregarded; gates and bar-ways are unclosed. 1 904 DN2A24 Cape Cod (as of 850s), Barway ... A driveway closed by bars. 1910 DN 3.452 seVT, Drive in at the second barway. 1967 Borland Hill Country 271 nwCT, When we first came to this lower Berkshire country my neighbor spoke of a barway. It baffled me, until I saw that what he meant was what I had always called a gate. But his word for it was logical. Most of the gates, as I called them, were closed by long cedar poles, bars, slipped into slots on each side. I had half a dozen barways on my place. replaced by

MA

.

barshareplow n Also barshare; pronc-sp barshear (~) esp Mid old-fash

see quots 1912, 1948. Washington Diaries 2.438 VA, Tools and Implemts: Bar Shear Plows 9. 1799 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 259 NC, Barshear plow. 1820 Hillsborough (N.C.) Recorder 2 July (DA), When my corn is up, I run a barshear one round in each corn row. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Bar-shear plough ... A plough with a wooden mould-board on which thin bars of iron were nailed to save the board from wear. 1944 Duncan Mentor Graham 1 1 5 IL, Only a brief pageant was to be theirs, of oxcart and bar-share plow, spinning-wheel and gritter. 1 948 Dick Dixie Frontier 99 Sth, An improved plow was known as the "bar-share" plow, which has been described as a profanity-provoking mechanism with a long iron share and a wooden moldboard, which, when it struck a root or stump, brought the handles up with a vigorous jerk, stopping the team. The operator, unable to stop so quickly, was thrown onto the handles, knocking the wind out of him. 1968 DARE (Qu. L18) Inf MD26, Barshear ['bar,sir] plow wooden beam, had share to cut ground, moldboard turned ground over; MD29, Barshear ['bar^ir] plow one furrow, three horses, man walked behind; VA33, Barshear plow turns the soil over.

NW

Basque community

AmSp 6.230 neOR, The

— used

as

an affectionate

and 1967 DARE Tape OR18, My folks are Bascos ['bsskoz]; OR11, Basco ['baesko]. 1967 DARE (Qu. HH28) Inf WY3, Basco Basque. 1980 DARE File sID (as of 1960s), There were quite a few Basque people in the Boise Valley. They were a highly respected minority, and were often affectionately called Bascos. 1981 KS Qrly. 1 3.2.64 nNV, Basco a Spanish or French Basque or person of Basque background; the term of preference for many Basques themselves. herdsmen from a

'bascals' are

'chinook'

is

a mild winter wind,

.

.

certain province in Spain.

.

(1925) .

.

1

—

— —

bar-stretcher See stretcher tbart-all

?A

.

.

A type of plow: 1785

.

—

barse-ackwards See bass-ackward(s) Atl

1

.

Basco n Also bascal

1931

DN 3.181

necessary for

ME

nickname.

.

& barvells,

1896 DN 1.412 neMA, Barvel: large leather apron worn by fishermen. 1950 Moore Candlemas Bay 7 ME, The little boat would be jumping like a flea, and Grampie standing there in his rubber boots and oilskin barvel, steering her as easy as if he were sitting at home in the parlor. 1975 Gould Lingo. 1978 Merriam Illustr. Lobstering 1 ME. 1979 Yankee Jan 233 ME, To a boy who grew up in Maine, barvels, poverty boxes, and hair touchers are familiar items. ffishinge.

barsdown n Also bar up and bar down ?obs A children's game similar to hi-spy: =sic-a-nine-ten. boys' outdoor game.

ME

coastal

fisherman's apron made of leather or oilcloth. 1629 in 1853 (Colony) Rec. of Gov. 1.404, We have now sent by

A member of the

.

NEng, esp

barmfell lap-skin]

base

/

A

barruh See barrow n 2

1895 DN 1.396 cNY, Barsdown seNH, Bar up and bar down ... A

1

n [Perh

bully.

1950 Moore Candlemas Bay 65 with the pine dagger hard with her sneaker

.

.

.

.

.

.

A

ME, Neal

was prodding at Maggie Mertis got up, walked over and kicked Neal "Let her go, you big bart-all," she said. .

.

.

|bes|,

occas

Pronc-sp bast(e)

|best|

Forms.

DN

1895

sOH, Base

1.384

.

.

generally [best]

.

.

.

DARE

1970 (Qu. L65, Kinds offences) Inf small hedge fence with sharp thorns.

bar toad n

.

.

VA43, Bar thorn—

Cf£>5DD12

Among loggers:

see quot.

1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Bar toad— Same as bar a man who goes into a saloon and squats there like a toad on a rock.

fly;

bar up and bar

down

See barsdown

.

game

.

B As noun. 1 A children's game of ball or tag, sometimes equivalent to dare-base or prisoner's base. [OED base sb. 2 1558 '•—] 1845 Knickerbocker 26.427 NYC, The motion very much resembles that of one who, in playing 'base,' screws his ball. 1866 Smith BillArp 129 GA, Sherman was playin base around about Atlanta. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.73, Base Two bases are selected as far apart as possible .. One side goes over and dares the other The others chase their opponents home, catching as many as they can. 1966 DARETape AL2, .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

designate a base;

if you're

tagged

.

when

.

off base, you're out; the

won. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. EE33) Inf KY41, Base (prisoner's base); LA6, Base a kind of tag in which the players have bases where they can't be caught; PA210, Base a form of tag. 1980 Foxfire 6 214 nG A, Base Any number of people can play. They are divided into two equal teams and each team is assigned to a base. The two bases face each other twenty to thirty feet apart The object of the game is to circle the opponent's base and return "home" without being caught and tagged out by one of the opponents. side with players left last.

—

.

.

—

.

.

bar thorn fence n

in schoolboy

1905 DA' 3.77 nwAR, Dare-base(t) Prisoner's base. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, He ain't gonna make it to home bast [best]. 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 6 s Appalachians, The runner slud into second baste. "prisoner's base."

Base

Scots bardy insolent, quarrelsome]

rel to

base n, exclam. v, adj Usu Cf Prone Intro 3.1.23

2

The

.

.

starting place for "it," or the place to be safely reached in

tag. hide-and-seek,

esp Sth, Midi,

and other children's games, widespread, but also goal, home, baseman

West See Map See

andASEE14-17 1943 LANE Map 585 csKY, Base

.

.

.

(Goal), 2 infs,

The head

spot where

wMA, It

Base. cl960 Wilson Coll. was when a game like I Spy was

'

baseball

basement barn

/

1965-70

being played.

162

DARE (Qu.

EE14)315

Midi, Midland, with acceptance greatest in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota.

West, Base.

1973 Allen

LAUM 1.396, Base

.

.

Infs, chiefly Sth,

is

clearly

Born out of wedlock. 1793

956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 259 cnNC, The sum of Ten Pounds 1946 PADS 5.10 eVA, Base-born Illegitimate child. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 77, On Chesapeake Bay, especially on the Eastern Shore, we find base-born (child), and this term appears also here and there in the Appalachians (but not in the intervening Virginia Piedmont). 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1.518, Baseborn ... A bastard; illegitimate. 1956 Hall Coll. wNC, Baseborn. 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 1 62 NC, Base-begotten child is not reported as current today, though in the western part of the state base-born child is occasionally still used. 1968 DARE (Qu. Zl la, b) Inf NC55, Base child; WV8, Baseborn. in

1

for the support of a Base begotten child. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

basekeeper See baseman

base

B3

line See base

baseman n Also

basekeeper

[base B2]

In var children's games: "it," the person the other players.

who must chase or catch

DARE

Tape GA13 [Describing the game of hide-and-seek], 1966-67 DARE (Qu. EE13b) Infs M08, TN14, Baseman; SC32. Basekeeper; (QR, near Qu. EE13b) Inf OK 18, Baseman. 1966

Selecting a baseman.

3 also base line, home base: The starting line in marble games. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. EE8) Infs CA165, DE3, GA33, M036, PA71, Base; AR5 PA245, Base line; GA72, Home base. 1969 DARE Tape CA172, Base place from which first shot is made in a marble game. 1

.

When

the "base" begins, the leader often stops, leaving the rest of his

words

to be guessed at, or

it

may

be that they are taken up by one of the

part of a building

which

See

Map Cf cellar

1833

in

1

widespread, but least

level,

is

wholly or partly

Also base on (name): In var children's games: =all (in) free. 1966 DARE Tape GA13 [In the game of hide-and-seek], He'd run around and holler, "Base!" 1970 DARE (Qu. EE15, When he has caught the first ofthose that were hiding, what does the player who is 'it call out to the others?) Inf VA39, Base on so-and-so. '

'

verb.

1 867. [base n B4 above] See also baser 1863 Allen Family Papers 69 SC, Billy sang or rather chanted, and the others "based" him as they say. Ibid 163, "Edward come base me" cried Gibb in the midst of his delirium. Ibid 20 1 Dido sang the "Lonesome Valley" in a very rich contralto voice, the others "basing" her. 1867 Allen Slave Songs v SC coast, The leading singer starts the words of each verse, often improvising, and the others, who "base" him, as it is called, strike in with the refrain, or even join in the solo, when the words are

In gospel singing: see quot

in

NEast

n B2 1

NH Hist. Soc. Coll.

837

common

5.68, In the basement, or cellar, three

rooms on the south side were filled with boxes. 1834 ( 898) Kemper Jrl. 408 NY, The 2 school rooms are in the basement story of the Ch[urch]. 1855 Simms Forayers 274 SC, This building, a comfortable frame-work of two stories on a basement faced south and west. 1950 AmSp 25.165 CO, Cellar is competing with basement and tends to be supplanted by basement especially when the underground room has cement floors. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Basement Space under a house. Cellar is rarely so used, as most cellars were separate from 1965-70 DARE (Qu. D 18) 671 Infs, widespread, but least houses. 1

.

C As exclam.

As

below ground

.

other singers.

1

The

also attrib:

1

.

4 Lines sung by the chorus in gospel singing. See also base v (at D below), baser 1863 Allen Family Papers 69 SC, Tony, Taffy and Ishmael sat or stood about and joined in the "base." 1867 Allen Slave Songs v SC coast,

D

basement n

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

NEast, Basement; (Qu. D 19) 361 Infs, widespread, but least NEast, (Down) to the basement; 102 Infs, (Down) in(to) the basement; 32 Infs, Down (the) basement; NJ21, SC19, Down in (that) basement; Mil, WI35, Downstairs to the basement; CA182, GA89, NY45, (Into) basement.

common common

in in

,

.

.

familiar.

2 Transf: to disparage or ridicule; to confront (someone). among Black speakers 1910 DARE (Qu.Y 4, Uncomplimentary remark) Inf NY249, Basing at me has to do with tone. 1980 Folb Runnin' Down 95 Los Angeles CA [Black], An' he squared up and he said, "Man, you wants to base?'''' You get to basin' more or less put a man or woman in dey place. Ibid 48, " Now, if I went to the principal office an' I went in dere and I base. you don' wan' me to commence to turnin' dis school out, you git me my .

—

.

.

.

•basement

transfer!"

E As

adj.

See baseborn.

1

+

varr

(Qq. D18, D19)

2 A toilet room in a public school, euphem because 1966 DARE FW Addit MA6, Basement— school toilet toilets always used to be in the basement. 1970 Tarpley Blinky 149 neTX, His son had been corrected by the first grade teacher when he asked if he might go to the toilet. "You must say basement?'' the teacher scolded. Now the child has convinced his entire family that the path behind the house leads to the basement. 1982 DARE File NH, The basement = the bathroom of a public school, regardless of its location. .

baseball n Also baseball jackknife

A children's knife game similar to 1950

WELS

ground) Inf,

1

Inf,

(Games where you csWI, Baseball;

1

'.'Inland

mumblety-peg.

try to

1

on how

it

1

,

Baseball

make a jackknife

ceVVI, Baseball

Inf,

ceWI, Baseball jackknife. 1966-69

PA 96, Baseball; MN2 PA 167, Baseball — two

Nth

—

[a

stick in the

— recent [name];

1

DARE(Qu. EE5) MN1, MT1,

two-bladed knife at right angles]; both blades out. Depending

blades. "Knife"

—

lands the batter scores a base. If

it

lays

flat,

you're out.

base-begotten See baseborn

base-born

3,

1949 Kurath

1645—*]

Word

base, earlier base-begotten

chiefly

Geog.

fig

Delmarva,

36)

wNC

(See

[OED map in

Inland

Nth

WELS (A

barn built on a hillside with entrances on two levels) 27 barn. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Ml), Inf IA14, Basement barn has a rock foundation part way up, about eight feet; IL15, cows Basement barn partially underground; NY75, Basement barn are stabled below; MI 1 1 6, NY206, Basement barn. 1973 Allen LA

1950

Infs,

baseboarding n See basing

baseborn adj,alsoabsol Also

basement barn n =bank barn.

.

WI, Basement

1.187

—

seMN,

—

—

1

Inf,

Basement barn.

UM

1

.

baser

163

baser n [base B4] In gospel singing: a

member of the chorus; also,

lines

sung by the

chorus. 1867 Allen Slave Songs v SC coast, The "basers" themselves seem to follow their own whims, beginning when they please and leaving off when they please, striking an octave above or below so as to produce the effect of a marvellous complication and variety, and yet with the most perfect time, and rarely with any discord. 1942 (1965) Parrish Slave Songs xvi GA coast, The effect of an inexhaustible supply of breath is achieved through the simple expedient of the "basers" as members the basers played as of the chorus are called ... In the old days important a part in group singing as the one who sang the leading lines. 1970 Major Afro-Amer. Slang, Basers: responding line sung by a gospel .

.

—

.

.

/

basketful of

possum-heads

b carry a basket: To prepare for imminent childbirth. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. AA28) Infs IN3, PA 177, Better start carrying a basket;

PA 134,

Better carry a basket;

OK42,

Better start carrying a

basket with her.

basket ash n [See quot 1958] =black ash 1 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 325, Fraxinus nigra Basket Ash 1911 Century Diet. Suppi, Ash Basket-ash, the black ash so called because it affords basket splints. 1958 Petrides Trees & Known also as Basket Ash. Short logs or Shrubs 34, Black Ash planks when hammered repeatedly on the ends split along the annual growth rings into thin sheets that can be cut into strips for weaving pack baskets. 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 136. .

(Mass.). .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

group.

Rec. 9.65 seKY, Bases-out: [A call for] permission to kick [one's] shooter away from an undesirable position such as being by a tree or a wall.

base steer See bay

bashaw n Also

steer

basha,

cat

[Etym unknown, but perh

Choctaw basha "marked, a mark" mottled skin; cf appaloosa n 2 ]

in reference to the

=flathead catfish 1. 1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 16.102,

PfylodictisJ olivaris ... BaA fish of unprepossessing appearance, although much shaw; Goujon used as food. 1884 Goode Fisheries U.S. 628, The "Mud Cat," "Yellow Cat," "Goujon," or "Bashaw" is found in all the large rivers of the West The mud cat, Leptos and South. 1911 Century Diet., Bashaw Bashaw cat. 1923 Public Opinion 120ct. 357/3 olivaris. [Louisiana.] (DA), A good-sized fish, itself Carnivorous, called a basha. 1933 LA or Bashaw, is the Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 424, The Yellow Cat, fourth of the big Mississippi Cats. .

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

balm n

Either of two plants of the mint family:

a A savory (here: Satureja acinos). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 107, C. acinos

b

A

horsemint

Monarda

1 (here:

.

.

.

Basil balm.

clinopodioides).

Waste ground 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 388 CT, Basil Balm and roadsides. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 429, Basil Balm Characterized by its yellowish-pink flowers. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 8. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

basing n Also baseboarding Sth

Basket bird.

.

basket dinner n Also basket lunch, ~ meal chiefly Midi, occas Sth Cf dinner on the ground A social gathering to which participants bring food to be shared by all; also the food itself. 1892

Kentuckian (Lexington) Dec. 88/3 (DA), This is a noted place where pies and cake and basket dinners prevail. 1915 DN 4. 1 80 swVA, Basket dinner Lunch brought in baskets to an "all-day meetin'," a religious service lasting through the day. 1940 Stong Hawkeyes 1 34 IA, Basket dinners made a good reason for getting together. 1950 WELS (When people bring hot dishes to a meeting place and share them together, you call that a meal) 1 Inf, swWI, Pot-luck or basket. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H70, When people bring baked dishes, salads, and so forth to a meeting place and share them together, that's a me-a/.)InfsILl 13, IN48, MS23, M03, 16,OH4, 57, 98, Basket dinner; SC70, Basket; (Qu. FF1) Inf M034, Basket dinners. 1967 DARE Tape IL23, They had a hanging here once and women took their children and took a basket dinner and spent the day and watched the hanging. 1968 Tuscaloosa News (AL) 1 Aug 26/6, The Rev. H.B. Holt, former pastor, conducting the morning worship service. A basket lunch will be served at noon with afternoon singing to follow. ///.

for picnics

.

.

.

basket elm n =cedar elm. 1851 DeBow's Rev. 1 1 .46, Basket Elm and Water Elm. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 180, Ulmus crassifolia Basket Elm (Ark.). 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 290, Cedar elm Other common names basket elm. .

A baseboard. DARE (Qu.

D37, The

strip

of wood about eight inches high

along the bottom of the wall) Infs LA6, Baseboardin'; (Qu. D38) Inf MS63, Basing.

MS85,

Basing;

GA78,

A brittle

basket n Pronc-sp bahskit

ME

A

leaky vessel; also fig. 1903 Wasson Cap'n Simeon's Store 39 ME, Why don't you folks Lingo, turn to and condemn the tormented ole basket? 1975 Gould Basket ... A leaky boat, or a kettle with a hole in it; hence, a person who can't keep a secret. "Tell it to that bahskit and it's all over town!" 1

NEng

basket-fish n

.

.

ME

3 See quot.

LANE Map

1943

585 (Goal),

1

inf,

nwMA,

Basket, the goal in run-

sheep-run.

4 also black basket, in phr son of a ~: See quots.

Nth euphem

WELS (Humorous substitutes for stronger exclamations: "Why ") 1966-68 DARE (Qu. Inf, seWI, Basket.

1950

NN24, basket

.

—

.

1

.'") Infs "Son ofa used by one individual.

PA 167, WI48, Basket; NH1, Black

5 See fish basket. 6 in phrr alluding to pregnancy:

and varr: To be pregnant. Cf oven 1967-70 DARE (Qu. AA28) Infs NH18, VT3, WI47, Got one in the basket; CA106, Has one in the basket; TX5, One in the basket; MA 123, a have one in the basket

Something

in the basket.

.

coast

1670 in 1671 Royal Soc. London Philos. Trans. 62221, Until a fitter a Basket-Fish, English name be found for it, why may it not be called or a Net Fish, or a Purs-net Fish? 1753 Chambers Cyclopedia Suppi, a name given by the English in North America to a very Basket-fish remarkable fish, sometimes caught in the seas thereabout. 1881 IngerAstrophyton Agassizii, a kind of soll Oyster-Industry 24 Basket-fish. many-armed starfish. 1901 Arnold Sea-Beach 2 1 5, This very singular ophiuran is commonly called the basket-fish, from its resemblance to a basket when the tentacles are rolled up ... It is found off the northern .

.

.

.

New England

coast.

—

,

1911 Century Diet., Basket-fish ... So named by

Governor John Winthrop of Connecticut, about 1670.

basket flower n [From fancied resemblance of the flower bracts to a basket]

Cf biscuit B5 the son of a

.

star (Astrophyton agassizii).

1

%2 in phr give one the basket: To jilt. Cf DS AA 1 1940-41 Cassidy WI Atlas seWI, She gave him the basket. [Laughter]

—

.

.

.

1965-70

.

1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 555, Orchard

Basket-bird. .

.

basket buggy, basket carriage See basket wagon

bashaw

related to

basil

spurius

oriole Icterus spurius

.

its

.

KY Folkl.

1963

hanging woven nest] Either the Baltimore oriole or the orchard oriole. 1913 Bailey Birds VA 209, Icterus galbula Weaver Bird. Basket Bird. Golden Robin. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 2.256, Icterus

basket bird n [From

bases-out exclam Also called kicks In marble play: see quot.

A

star thistle (here: Centaurea americana). rose or 1942 Hylander Plant Life 496, Our native Basket Flower has flesh-colored flowers with narrow fringe-like lobes often an inch in length; it ranges from Missouri and Louisiana to Kansas and Arizona. 1968 Barkley Plants KS 375, Basketflower. Prairies and plains. Scattered central and southeast. 1972 Brown Wild/lowers LA 1 95, Basket Flower, 2 to 3 inches wide, bell-shaped. Star-thistle Flower heads .

.

.

.

.

.

.

basketful of chips See basket of chips

^basketful of possum-heads n Cf basket of chips c 1906 DN 3.151 nwAR, Pleased as a basketful ofpossum-heads ceedingly well pleased. The possum's grin is proverbial. Rare.

... Ex-

3

basket grass

bass-ackward(s)

/

164

basket grass n

=squaw

1

Amer. Folkl. 11.282, Xerophyllum tenax .. basket Pierce Co., Wash. 1963 Craighead Rocky Mt. Wildflowers 31, grass The leaves when dried Other names: Basket-grass Beargrass and bleached were used by the Indians of the Northwest for making clothing and fine baskets. 1898

Jrl.

.

.

.

.

1907

smiling.

DN 3.216

nwAR.

.

.

2 =bear grass lb. 1951 PADS 1 5.29 TX, Nolina spp. to weave mats for household use or

.

.

Brown NC.Folkl.

Basket grass. These are employed for burial purposes. .

1929

1.366.

Cf basketful of possum-heads

c other phrr: See quots.

MA Spy &

Worcester Co. Advt. (Worcester MA) 28 Nov 2/1, The Yankee will say of a young lady, "she is a real pretty girl, but she is as homely as a basket ofchips" 1904 DN2.395 NYC, I didn't know him froma basket of chips. 1906 ZW3. 151 nwAR, Pleased as a basketful Delighted. 1 946 CA Folkl. Qrly. 5 .242 OR, Busy as a basket ofchips of chips going to a bonfire. 1950 PADS 14.80 cwFL, Pleasant as a basket of chips.

1827

.

.

.

AmSp 2.362 WV, He was as AmSp 5. 123 ME. 1952

1927

polite as a basket of chips to the ladies.

grass.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

basket lunch, basket meal See basket dinner

basket meeting

n, also attrib Sth,

basket phaeton See basket wagon

S Midi

A social gathering, usu for religious purposes, frequently accompanied by a basket dinner. 968) Bartlett Americanisms, Basket meeting. In the West a sort of pic-nic, generally with some religious "exercises." 1874 (1895) Eggleston Circuit Rider 2 1 5 IN, He had ben to Jinkinsville t'other day to 1.65 KY, A what the Methodis' called a "basket meetin'." 1890 "basket-meetin' " is a two or three days' meetin when they have "dinner 8.309/1 FL, "Basket meetings" are not on the ground." 1892 confined to the Southern negroes. On the contrary they are more common among the white people. Neither are they always religious. Quite frequently they are political, sometimes educational. When purely social they are called picnics. 1966 Lexington Herald & Leader (KY) 27 Aug 14/3, Sunday will be Homecomin and Basket-meetink [sic] Day at

1859

( 1

DN

',

AN&Q

the

Avon

Baptist Church.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Used before the rites of christening, lest some evil spirit, hearing the true name before it is ritually bound to the child, should call the child's spirit from the body and enter into the child, thus making it a changeling. They also give basket names to their children, which sometimes usurp the place of the real name, which is thus completely lost. infant charges.

basket oak n [See quot 1967 at 3] 1 An oak (Quercus michauxii) with silver-white bark and rather beechlike tomentose leaves, native chiefly to the South and the lower Mississippi Valley. Also called cow oak, swamp chestnut oak 2, white oak 1876 Dodge Black Hills 103, The oak is a white oak, of sometimes a straight fiber, like the basket oak of the Eastern States. 1940 ( 978) Still River of Earth 240 KY, I never figure spring's in for shore till the basket oaks sprout buds. 1969 DARE (Qu. T10) Infs KY29, 30, Basket oak. 1

2 =Durand oak or a var thereof. Durand 1891 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 159, Quercus breviloba Basket Oak Syn. Quercus Durandii Common Names Oak (Ala., La., Tex.). 1960 Vines Trees 157, Durand Oak— Basket Quercus durandii Also known by the vernacular names of Oak. Wood used for making splint cotton baskets in early times. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

SW

.

3

=swamp

.

.

chestnut oak

1.

Basket Oak. 1930 OK Univ. Biol. Surv. Pub. 2.2.58, Quercus prinus 1960 Vines Trees 153, Swamp Chestnut Oak. Quercus prinus Basket Oak. 1967 Borland Hill Country 161 nwCT, Among The "basket" the oaks there is one sometimes called basket oak name has a clear reason its wood, when split into splints and soaked to make it pliable, was once used extensively to make durable baskets. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

basket of chips n Also basketful of chips In allusive use and compar phrr, as: a as smiling as a basket of chips: Showing great happiness. [OEDS 1 788 "He grins like a basket of chips" (Grose)] ?obs [1800 The Nightingale, or Rural Songster 11 (DAE), She smiled like a basket of chips.] 1834 in 1956Eliason TarheelTalkl 04 NC, Little Tom looks as smiling as a basket of chips. 1907 Obenchain A unt Jane 45 KY, There he was as smilin' as a basket o' chips.

b polite as a basket of chips: Extremely or obsequiously 1905

DN

basket social n Also basket sociable

=box

3.16 cCT, Polite as a basket of chips

.

.

.

chiefly

Upper

MW, NW

social.

1895 Denver Times

Mar 5/4 (AmSp

5

give a basket social (cake only) at the

DARE (Qu.

FF1)

ND1,

Infs

2,

10,

17.1 24),

The Prohibitionists

will

Women's Exchange. 1965-70

PA40, SD2,

Basket social;

3, 5, 8,

— old-fashioned; ID1, Basket — bid on lunches; IL35, Basket — women bring food baskets, men buy baskets and to eat with the who brought MN28, Basket — auction a basket of food, eat with person who made MT3, — boys bid on Basket lunches; MN12, Basket

C09, Basket

social

social

4,

social

in

get

girl

it;

off

it;

sociable.

girls'

A

kind of spider.

1968

DARE (Qu.

R28) Inf UT6, Basket

spiders.

^basket upset n =fruit basket upset.

—

DARE

(Qu. EE2, Games that have one extra player when a given the players change places, and the extra one tries to get a place) Inf PA 104, Basket upset.

1968

signal

is

basket wagon n Also basket buggy, ~

Nth

Cf basket

old-fash

carriage,

~

phaeton

sleigh

A

horse-drawn vehicle with a wicker body. 1863 (1889) Whitney Faith Gartney 25 NEast, One happy, little child was riding over the lawn in her basket-wagon. 1941 FWP Guide MI 6 6, Brightly painted basket buggies stand ready to take the visitors on leisurely sight-seeing tours [of Mackinac Island]. 1948 Rittenhouse/iw^r. Horse-Drawn Vehicles 17 (as of 1870), Basket phaetons frequently had a single rumble seat. They did not have the heavy appearance of phaetons with painted wood panels. 1967 DARE (Qu. Wagon usedfor carrying hay) Inf NY 160, Basket wagon, kicker, L13, in current use. Hayrack formerly used. 1968 ZX4.RZ: Tape NJ30, The carriages were gone except for an occasional straw carriage pulled by a pony, a basket carriage, when I was a little girl. [Inf born 1911] .

.

1

.

basket

.

.

.

—

worm n [From

the silk case

spins]

it

=bagworm. 1889 formis

worm,

Century .

.

.

Thyridopteryx ephememBag-worm has also received the names basket-worm, drop-

Diet.,

The larva

.

.

.

.

.

etc.

bass See basswood

1

.

SW

.

.

—

.

.

.

—

1968 DARE (Qu. N40b) Inf MD31, Basket sleigh cutter type, made of woven basket material; MD48, Basket sleigh like cutter sleigh, but vehicle part made of woven basket material.

basket spider n

.

.

Cf basket wagon

cutter sleigh with a wicker body.

social

1949 Turner Africanisms 40 sSC, GA coast, Most of the Gullah people use two kinds of given names. One is English, and they call it their real or basket The other is the nickname, known also as the true name [or] The nickname is nearly always a word of African origin name something regarding the nature of the weather at the time of the child's or the time of birth. 1950 PADS 14. 1 or health of the child birth SC, Basket name ... A pet name given by Negro nurses to their helpless .

A

social

basket name n sSC, GA coast Gullah A nickname given to a child at birth: see quots.

.

basket sleigh n old-fash

Very

polite.

polite

and

bass-ackward(s) adv,

adj Also pronc-spp barse-ackwards, [By metath] widespread esp among men; joe See also back-asswards

bass-ackard(s)

or

euphem

=ass-backward(s). 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words cPA Mts (as of c 1900), Bass-ackwards head over heels, a tumble. 1931 PMLA 46. 1 322 s Appalachians, Bass on "assbackwards" reack'ard. 1937 Hench Coll. cVA, My note bass-ackwards meaning the minds me that for years I have heard Totally backsame thing. 1949 PADS 1 1.3 wTX, Bassackwards wards. A euphemistic Spoonerism. cl960 Wilson Coll. cwKY, Bassackwards. Humorous transposition "for men only." "He put on his "This is the pants bassackwards." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. MM3, ") 1 9 Infs, widespread, front, you 've got the whole thing turned Bass-ackwards; CA3, CT25, VA5, Bass-ackward; AL51, MS71, Bass-

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

ackards; (Qu.

MM2,

Infs, scattered,

") 15 "Look, you've got your dress on Bass-ackwards; MA61, 18, Bass-ackward; TX51, .

.

OH

bassalon

165

KK52)

Bass-ackards; (Qu.

Inf

WA1,

Bass-ackwards; (Qu. JJ42) Inf

SC44, Got it bass-ackwards. [Of all Infs responding to Qq. MM2 and 3, 48% were men; of those giving these responses, 70% for MM3 were men, and 80% for MM2 were men.] 1968 DARE FW Addit csLA, Bass-ackconfused, mixed up, said of mental state. wards [.baes'jekwa^dz] Lingo, Barse-ackwards. 1975 Gould .

.

.

ME

ibassalon n 1952 Brown

bass

1.518

wNC, Bassalon

A

...

flat;

onyms

(Qu. Q10) Inf OH67, Bass

Tern

.

1968

1.60.

.

.

Syn-

DARE

gull.

basswood n also bass: =linden. 1670 Rowley Rec. 210 (DA), The Northwest Angle is a basswood tree. 1728 in 1882 Boston Registry Dept. Records 8.222, We are of the opinion that no popler, chestnut, pine, henlock [sic], sassifax, black ash, 3.181 seNH, Bassbasswood, or cedar shall be corded up. 1907 wood. American linden. 1926 West Virginia Legislative Handbook 508 (Hench Coll.), And "he calls him basswood," was another complaint. [The West Virginian's term for basswood is linn.] 1950 Moore Trees AR Local Names Bass. 1965 Needham-Mus99, Tilia americana sey Country Things 138 sVT, The pitch from off of logs or lumber would look like the nicest basswood honey you ever saw. 1967 - 70 DARE (Qu. T13, Names for [linden] trees) 162 Infs, scattered, but esp NEast, Midi, Gt Lakes, Upper MW, Basswood; (Qu. T9) Infs CT30, NY191, NC48, Basswood; (Qu. T12) Inf WV2, Basswood. 1

DN

.

.

.

and dewberries

[berries]

1917 (1923) Birds Amer.

"Bass-gull."

.

1961 DARE (Qu. 144) Inf LAI

comes out of the

bass gull n The common tern (Sterna hirundo hirundo). 1903 Dawson Birds OH 2.559, Common .

.

Bastard berries— come between black

1,

in old fields

on low

vines.

bastard broadbill n esp NY, RI Cf broadbill =ring-necked duck. Duck ... By our 1844 Giraud Birds Long Is. 324, Ring-necked gunners generally, it is considered a hybrid, and familiar to them by the 1899 Howe Birds RI 38, Aythya col1910 Eaton Birds NY 1 .208, This species, called also Bastard broadbill. is a rare migrant in eastern New York. see Duck, Ring1944 Hausman Amer. Birds 507, Broad-bill, Bastard

name

of "Bastard Broad-bill."

laris

.

.

Bastard Broad-bill.

.

.

.

—

necked.

bastard dowitcher n Also bastard, bastard dowitch =stilt sandpiper. 1749/2, Bastard dowitcher or dowitch, the stilt1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. CirVernacular Names In local use. cular 1 3.52, Stilt Sandpiper Bastard, bastard-dowitcher (Long Id.. N.Y.). 1952 AmSp 27.294. Stilt

1889 Century

Flora

OH,

198

Diet.

Micropalama himantopus.

sandpiper.

.

Island.

is

.

.

.

called also bastard dowitch

and simply,

DARE (Qu.

L24,

A

crop or part of a crop that springs up

and

old seed) Infs MN2, NY79, 102, 107, PA1, WV3, Bastard; IN35, Bastard applies to wild stuff [such as] wild millet.

—

An animal, plant, or mineral that resembles and is sometimes mistaken for the "true" form; a hybrid. See also separate entries below Cf false adj 1709 Lawson Carolina 92 (DA). Bastard-Spanish is an Oak betwixt the 2 attrib:

Spanish and Red-Oak. 1851 5. Lit. Messenger 1 7.374/2 Plains States, I am convinced that it is the Mezquite; which is not known to exist in our prairies; their frequenters have no name for it that I have heard, except perhaps, 'bastard locust.' 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 37, Blue curls ... A common plant resembling pennyroyal, and hence called bastard pennyroyal. 1952 AmSp 21 .29 A, 'Bastard, meaning hybrid, in the names of American birds [Bastard] Loon (gray-cheeked grebe. Long Island, N.Y.) Gannet (white ibis, Ga.) Goose (snow goose, N.J.) Mallard (gadwall, Calif.) Widgeon (European widgeon, Va., N.C.) also bastard redhead Teal (hooded merganser, Wash.) Robin (blue bird, La.) Blackbird (yellow-headed blackbird, Texas). 1 968 Adams Western Words 1 4, Bastard quartz. Valueless quartz with no accessory minerals. '

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

3

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

See quot. 1967 DARE Tape WA29,

1 cut my grape stake material two different ways; I cut it vertical grain like the shakes are made, and what they call bastard grain that's more or less of a logger's expression. [FW:] What does it mean? [Inf:] It's opposite the grain.

—

=false indigo 1 (here: Amorpha fructicosa). False or Bastard In1900 Lyons Plant Names 29, A. fructicosa digo Formerly a source of indigo. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 271, Bastard, or false indigo, grows as a shrub to often the height of twenty feet. 1960 Vines Trees 52 1 Also known under the vernacular names of False Indigo and Bastard Indigo. 1970 Correll Plants TX

4 See bastard dowitcher.

2

.

.

.

Bastard ash.

SW

.

,

818.

2 =deer vetch.

1950 Gray-Fernald Manual ofBotany 896, Lotus L. Birdsfoot-Trefoil. Bastard Indigo.

bastard oak n also bastard white oak:

1

= Durand oak or its var Bigelow oak.

Sth 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora

chiefly

Bastard 159, Quercus breviloba 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 470, Quercus brexilobala Texan White Oak. Pin Oak. Bastard Oak ... Of some value for its timber and for fuel. 1908 Britton A'. Amer. Trees 325, Quercus austrina ... is also called Pin oak and Bastard oak. 1933 Small Manual Bastard White-oak. 1969 DARE (Qu. SE Flora 426, Q. Durandii T10) Inf M039. Bastard oak. 1970 Correll Plants TX 481, Quercus Bastard oak. sinuata

Oak

.

.

.

(Ala., La., Tex.). .

.

.

.

.

.

2

.

.

.

=Lacey oak.

1903 Small Flora SE U.S. 353, Quercus Laceyi Texas. Bastard Oak. Mountain Oak. 1960 Vines frees .

Oak

Vernacular names are Bastard Oak. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

South-central

SW

60, Lacey Mountain Oak, Smoky Oak, and

3 =water oak (here: Quercus nigra). 1913 Torreva 13.229, Quercus nigra L.

1

— Bastard oak. Santee Club.

1938 Van Dersal Native Woody Plants 324, Bastard. coccinea

Flora

Fraxinus

329,

Pennsylva-

.

.

Other names

.

.for.

.

box

elder) Inf

NH14,

.

.

.

.

oak (Quercus

).

bastard pine n 1

elder.

1968ZX4/?£(Qu. T13,

.

.

4 =scarlet oak.

Sudworth Arborescent Bastard Ash (Vt.).

=box

.

S.C.

bastard ash n 1 =green ash. 1897

on

.

attrib:

nia

bastard,

N.Y.

1

A

itselffrom

.

—

.

bastard indigo n [See quot 1900]

A volunteer crop.

.

.

Liriodendron

.

1966-68

.

.

.

.

.

half

.

bastard n

grows by

.

flour.

Long

Sudworth Arborescent Basswood.

bast See base

1

.

bastard bread n Bread made with a mixture of meal and flour. 1965 DARE (Qu. H18) Inf FL21, Bastard bread— half meal and

sandpiper ...

2 =tulip tree.

1897

.

.

.

W

tulipifera

.

bastard berry n

967 DARE (QR, near Qu. R4) Inf NY 1 0, Bass fly: water; bass eat them. 1

.

1731 (1754) Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina 1.49 Icterus minor. The Bastard Baltimore. Weighs thirteen Penny-Weight. 1808 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 1.24, Buffon, and Latham, have both described the male of the bastard Baltimore (Oriolus Spuriusj, as the female Baltimore. 1946 BasOther Names Hausman Eastern Birds 555, Orchard Oriole tard Baltimore.

ragged man.

n

fly

bastard Baltimore n =orchard oriole.

.

NC Folkl.

bastard pine

/

Any

of various pines

as:

a =shortleaf pine 1 (here: Pinus echinata). 1785 Marshall Arbustrum 100, Pinus echinata

.

.

.

Bastard Pine.

bastard teal

bat

/

b =slash pine

166

Pinus

bas Bastard Pine.

ufft v phr [Ger aufpassen, PaGer uffbasse to pay attention, watch out] 1967 DARE (Qu. JJ26, If somebody has been doing poor work or not

1891 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 26, Pinus tceda Bastard Pine (Va., called N.C.). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 292, PfinusJ taeda Pine. 1960 Vines Trees SW23, Pinus taeda also Bastard Other

enough, the boss might say, "If he wants to keep his job he'd better ") Inf PA 1 1, Bas ufft [bas uft] expression used about a guy laying on the job and not producing.

1 (here:

elliottii).

1884 Sargent Forests ofN. Amer. 202, Pinus Cubensis c =loblolly pine 1 (here:

Pinus

.

.

.

.

vernacular names are

2 =white

.

taeda). .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Bastard Pine.

.

—

Cf chimney bat, great bat, Virginia bat =nighthawk. Cfbullbat 1709 (1967) Lawson New Voyage 148, East-India Bats

bat n

fir.

1

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora

55,

Abies concolor

.

Bastard Pine

.

(Utah).

bastard teal n =hooded merganser.

—

13.7,

Hooded Merganser

.

.

.

.

Ver-

nacular Names In local use. Bastard teal (Wash.). 1952 AmSp 27.294, Bastard Teal (hooded merganser, Wash.). Any small duck may be called a teal, but this one, with a conspicuous white and black crest, is no ordinary teal, hence is deemed probably the result of hybridi.

.

.

.

or Musqueto Hawks, are the Bigness of a Cuckoo, and much of the same Colour. 1812 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 5.65, Night-Hawk This bird, in Virginia and some of the southern districts, is called a bat. 1899(1912)Green VA Folk-Speech, Bat The night hawk. 1923 State Ornith. Birds WV33, His [=nighthawk's] bat-like stunts while he is taking insects on the wing give him the name of "bat." 1955 Oriole 20. .9 GA, Night-

.

hawk. 2

bastard white oak See bastard oak

WV

.

1

nocturnal habits).

its

swift.

30.179, Simply bat has been recorded for

[=chimney

it

and Kansas.

bat n 2 [bat v 2 ]

A

Howe Birds RI 49, Micropalama himantopus low-leg. — An uncommon spring, but not uncommon 1899

.

.

Bastard Yel-

.

fall

migrant.

1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.231, The Stilt Sandpiper is frequently mistaken for the Yellowlegs The similarity of the two species is acknowledged by the popular name, "Bastard Yellow-legs," which the sportsmen of Long Island have given to the Stilt Sandpiper. 1952 AmSp 27.294 MA, NY, RI, VA, Bastard Yellowleg. 1962 Imhof AL Birds 253, Bastard Yellowlegs. The Stilt Sandpiper looks like a cross between a dowitcher and a yellowlegs. 1970 DARE (Qu. Q 0) Inf VA47, Bastard .

.

.

.

.

1

=stilt sandpiper.

.

AmSp

.

swift] in Florida, Missouri,

bastard yellowleg(s) n [See quots]

.

— Bat (from

=chimney

1955

zation.

.

1

yellowlegs.

baste n See base

.

.

1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular .

1

A

blink.

1932

(

1

974) Caldwell Tobacco Road 32

GA, Jeeter suddenly broke into him upon the sack of turnips almost as 1966-70 DARE (Qu. A 14, "It won't ") Inf NC83, A bat of your eye; (Qu.

a terrific plunge that landed

quickly as the bat of an eye. take any longer than

KK42b,

.

"He could do that

.

1929

.

Inf FL33, In the bat of an eye.

")

Also batboard See also bat v 3 batting

bat n 3 Also sp bait

=batten

.

,

n.

AmSp 4.69, The

side parts [of a stage backdrop] are fastened to

—

1940-41 Cassidy WI Atlas, Bat a strip of wood with beveled edges, applied outside a board wall to seal the cracks between boards. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. D27 Strips of wood used to cover the outside of a frame house) Infs, scattered, Bats; AZ8, 1 Batboard. 1981 DARE File CA, Board and batten [is] frequently shortened to board and batt. strips or battens, called bats.

,

1

Jbaste v 1931-33

LANE

Worksheets ceMA, In connection with a fire in a only thing that would go with the back log would be the kindling. When you put that in you call it basting it. fireplace: the

baster n |'best3>-| Pronc-sp baister [Etym unknown, but see quots 1940, 1975] See also basting big Something remarkably large for its type; see quot 1975. cl900 Wasson in 1974 AmSp 49.61 swME, It was a baster of a rat. 1940 Harper's Mag. 182.107/1 ME, Baster (pronounced bayster) is a popular word with boys He's an old baster, they say, when they pull

ME

.

.

.

out of an eel trap. It probably derives from bastard, but it sounds quite proper and innocent when you hear it, and rather descriptive. 1975 Gould Indicating large Lingo 3, Baister Possibly baster size Often with the adjective "old": "He hooked an old baister of a togue." The word is apt for a storm: "An old baisterblew up." A high swell which jolts a lobster boat may be described as an old baister. The word comes from a big rooster or roast which requires much basting in the oven.

an

eel

—

ME

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ME

'

.

.

.

big.

The

n, often pi

[Span]

SW

of a saddle; also, the leather lining of a saddle. 1881 Farrow Mt. Scouting 138, The Mexican or California saddles [are] usually furnished with wool-lined bastos. 1907 White AZ Nights 9, The pony I was riding did his best, but even then could not avoid a sharp prod that would have ripped him up had not my leather bastos intervened. 1932BentleyS pSBB19 1915 DN 4.246, B.d.t. explanatory of an insistent .

.

.

Bazoo wagon:

12,

bazzy See buzzy n 2

Midi,

yiz (Gullah); eye-dial iz

.

wagon; prob also

sound by caboose] 1977 Adams Lang. Railroader

Prone

yis,

GA coast, Buh Rabbit say: "Me yent." Buh

.

Bazook.

are: usu

.

.

Pronc-spp

|iz|.

.

.

1 57, Me could pint dem out an tell you who 1922 Gonzales Black Border 283 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], "Enty," "ent," "yent," sometimes "ain'," serve for isn't, aren't, didn't, don't, doesn't Preceded by a soft vowel sound, "iz" and "ent" are changed to "yiz" and "yent;" as: "him iz," "him ent," become, by the substitution of '"e" for him, '"e yiz," '"e yent."

dem

now chiefly West joe or derog 1904 (1972) Harben Georgians 43 GA, I shot off my bazoo about what I thought was Scriptur. 1906 DN 3.126 nwAR, Bazoo Mouth, talk. "Shut up your bazoo." "We've had enough of your bazoo." 1908 DN 3.289 eAL, wGA. 1948 Sat. Eve. Post 24 Apr 1 73/2 WA, Shut yer big bazoo! 1950 WELS (Joking or uncomplimentary words for a person's mouth) 2 Infs, WI, Bazoo; 1 Inf, cnWI, Bazook; 1 Inf, swWI, Close your bazoo. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. X9) 1 1 Infs, chiefly West, Bazoo; MT2,

1

.

.

Wolf say: "You yis." Ibid

A

talk,

A

or air they agin hit?"

MA

1888 Jones Negro Myths 7

bazoo n [Perh Du bazuin trumpet]

1877

hit

2 been: usu |bm|; also, widespread, esp NEng, S Midi, somewhat old-fash, |ben|; occas, esp sAppalachians, |bin|. Pronc-spp ben, be'n, bean, bin 1622 Mourt's Relation Iournall Plimoth 4 MA, Having bin forced to cut her downe in bestowing her betwixt the decks. 1778 in 1886 Hist. Soc. Proc.for 1885-86 2d ser 2.447, Mr. Aaron Thompson likd to ben killd breaking a colt. 1829 Kirkham Engl. Grammar 192, Provincialisms New England [ben]. 1884 Jewett Mate of Daylight 203 ME, There'd be'n trouble about the property. 1890 DN 1.38 NEng, [bin]. 1892 DN 1.238 MO, NY, NEng, [ben]. 1894 DN 1.340 wCT, [ben]. 1895 DN 1.370 TN, KY, wNC, Ef you'd a ben thar. 1906 DN 3.115 sIN, Been, pronounced ben. Ibid 126 nwAR, Ben Common. 1917 in 1944 ADD s,cwWV, It's bean [bin] a long time. 1928 AmSp 3.403 Ozarks, Been is nearly always given the short e sound, and is best written ben. Alice French, better known as Octave Thanet. says that in Arkansas the people pronounce been in the old way to rhyme with seen, but the present writers have not heard this pronunciation in the Ozarks. 1933 AmSp 8. 1 .24 c,sAppalachians, Sometimes been is bean. This pronunciation seems to be fairly well distributed through the southern and central Appalachians, although it is not heard on the tongues of many persons in any one place.

bays which indent the coast; in distinction from "garden truck."

also bazook:

.

.

.

bay truck n ?obs

1

.

.

called Silver-top or Bay-top palmetto, attains a height of 10 meters.

bay-you See bayou

be

or,

Std sense, used in var fig phrr (esp kick like a bay steer) to indicate vigorous protest or exertion: see quots. 1906 DN 3.143 nwAR, Kick worse than a bay steer (down hill backwards) ... To resist with might and main. 1931 K.C Times 28 Sept (DA), The next morning he came down town kicking like a bay steer. ap1933 AmSp 8. .28 TX, Kick like a bay steer. To kick vigorously plied to animals and figuratively to persons. 1939 FWP ID Lore 243, You're as crazy as a bay steer in a cornfield. 1946 CA Folkl. Qrly. 5.23 wOR, He kicks like a bay steer. He makes a strenuous objection ... I have often heard this saying as "a base steer," modified, I suppose, by popular etymology. Ibid 338 CA, To sweat like a bay steer. [1951 a reddish-brown steer. CowFergusson New Mexico 405, Bay steer

1966-67

/

1

be.

Note: some of the senses are

use in negative constructions, see a as indie.

Note:

some

tenseless, with the tense

difficult to distinguish.

For

Cl

authorities consider this form to be of the sentence instead indicated by

adverbs or other markers. (1) pres:

Am,

are,

is.

[OED: "Be continued

in

concurrent use

and its varr] till the end of the [16th] century (see Shakspere, and Bible of 1611), and still occurs as a poetic archaism, as well as in certain traditional expressions and famil[with are

, ,

be

/

be

176

iar quotations of 16th c. origin, as 'the powers that be.' Southern and eastern [British] dialect speech retains be both in singular and plural, as 'I be a going,' 'we be ready.' "] chiefly NEast, .

somewhat

Sth

.

old-fash

1789 Webster Dissertations Engl. Lang. 385 NEng, The verb be is used after the ancient manner, I be, you be, we be, they be. 1829 Tenney Female Quixotism 2.4 1 Philadelphia PA [Black], Spose he want to know how old you be first. 1894 The regular 1 .340 wCT, Be: forms of the present indicative are all used, but there is a secondary inflection as follows: I be / you be / he is / we be / you be / they be. 1914 DN 4.69 nNH, ME, Be Am; are. 1936 Morehouse Rain on Just 128 NC, "Young uns," said Least Dolly, "We be saved, I reckon." 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 69 sGA, Cannibals, they be. 1968ZX4/?£(Qu. EE33, Outdoor games)InfW39, "Squat where you be"— similar to "Statues." 1972 Orbis (Louvain) 21.26 TN [White], That be a flat tire. 1982 DAREFWe sIN, As long as that be all they are [in price], I could get a lot of them. .

.

still

DN

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

Was, were. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 4 eTX [Black], We was all listenin' to de Evuhbody wonder what de trouble be an' staa't lookin' preachuh outen de windows. 1974 PADS 61 -62.24 cnGA, The frequency with which invariant be is used to indicate past events makes the adjective "deviant" seem questionable for this usage: "It was one time when she be cold, cause my dad [now dead] he would always keep my mother warm when she be cold in the wintertime." [Beryl] Bailey cites examples such "He be there yesterday" to illustrate the point that the element of as time is optional in the verb when time is expressed adverbially or contextually in a nonstandard black dialect. Thus the invariant be form is used not only for repetitive action and for future or conditional occurrences (with will or would omitted) as Fasold states, but also for the present moment and for a past occurrence. 1975 Allen LAUM 2.33 nMN, "They be coming home about midnight": in past context. 1981 Bailey -Bassett Invariant "Be" 10 Sth, In the data used here only two examples of "distributive be" clearly refer to actions in the past ... "I never was called a bad man. I never did be out very much in the public." The other refers to an action that took place the preceding yesterday you be here, and he was telling me day: "I was telling Mr. In spite of these examples, about he locate some of his people." "distributive be" seems to be rarely used in past contexts. "Distributive be" is usually tenseless, but the few examples in past contexts deserve (2) past:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

esp Sth

1942 Rowlings Cross Creek 89 FL [Black], I'll go with him I be back Tuesday mornin' on the nine o'clock train. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN [White], I be so glad when Ray come home. 1972 Orbis (Louvain) 21.25 Sth [White], I think it be close Mr. Nixon be our nex' president. Ibid [White], I be seventy-six my nex' birthday. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 20, The Black English speaker can use be to convey a sense of future time, as in The boy be here soon and They family begone Friday. .

.

.

.

.

.

b in emphatic uses: See quots. 1894 DN 1.340 wCT, A restatement with emphasis of a previous remark after a contradiction would usually take be. "Now, Hiram, you aint agoin' t' the store to-night!" "I say I be agoin' tew!" 1903 DN2.292 Cape Cod (as of 850s), Emphatic I be / you be / he is / we be / you be / they be. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 123 nFL, sGA, What for the gov'ment need more trees? Hain't no use for all the trees thar be! 1945 PADS 3.9 nVT, One of my farmer friends uses "I be" in statements, possibly more emphatic than "I am."

MA

1

.

.

N.Y. and Pa. where going?" Said by a few

.

cl960 Wilson

occurs.

it

elderly folks.

csKY, "Be you

Coll.

DARE (Qu. NNlOa) Infs

1966-69

MA68, NY94, WA How be ya (or you)?; MS35, How you be? 1975 Allen LA UM 2.32 nIA, As a finite form, be has only a ghostly existence in 1

UM.

the

1

,

Actually, only

records, both

from the

two bona

appear in the

fide instances

conversation of Type I speakers the right road?": inf frequently uses be in this way. free

.

.

.

field

"Be I on

d in compar constrs: See quots. chiefly NEast old-fash 1833 in 834 Smith Letters Jack Downing 155 ME, Your Aut [sic] tells me she dont think Brother Joshua can be so strong of his Age as I be. 1932-34 Hanley Disks cnCT, He ain't as old as I be; csCT, He wasn't quite as old as I be; cwMA, In some towns they're more so than they be in others. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 16 seTX [Black], His pappy Tom jes' ez 'sponsibul as li'l Bill be. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 27 NEng, NY, nNJ, nPA, In "tall as I am," be is even more characteristically an older feature; of 28 N. Eng. informants who use it, 2 1 fall in Type I A and four in II A [=old, with little or moderate educ]. 1968 DARE FW Addit NY72, Heck of a lot older 'n I be. 1

.

.

.

e as aux: (1) in progressive constrs:

Am,

are,

is.

1829 Kirkham Engl. Grammar 192, Provincialisms New England. I be goin. 1894 DN 1 .328 NJ, Be: used for both am and are; as "I be going," "we be going." 1936 Morehouse Rain on Just 129 NC, You be working them young uns almighty hard. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 5 nFL, sGA, She be a-huntin' weeds an' flowers. cl960 Wilson Coll. csK Y, Be you going? Said by a few elderly folks. 1 969 DARE Tape RI 1 Now we be sewing for the lawn party so we wouldn't be doing sewing for the hospital ... On the right-hand side as you be going out. .

.

.

.

.

1

Would be. See also if so be 1972 Orbis (Louvain) 21.26 TN [White], If this was a communist country we just be talkin' about the weather. 1981 Bailey - Bassett Invariant "Be"LA, MS [White], If we'd get out working and 6edirty we'd wash [Black] It'd be a one-by-twelve or whatever it be. (2) conditional:

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

c in interrog contexts: See quots.

1977 Smitherman Talkin 25, Here's how Black English speakers render be plus done plus verb. '"'He be done left by the time we get there. I be done finish before anyone arrive.'"' this future perfect:

f

to signify habitual or repeated action, or to refer to continuous

esp

.

NEng & settlement areas;

also Sth

1816 Pickering Vocab. 46, This was formerly much used in New England instead of am and are, in phrases of this kind: Be you ready? Be you going? I be, &c. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 310 swIN, Well who be you? 1 894 DN 1 340 wCT, I be / you be / he is / we be / espeyou be / they be ... It is used in dependent sentences generally, cially indirect questions, and the second part of the favorite Yankee form .

.

.

esp freq among Blacks; occas See also Bla above

actions or usual conditions,

among Whites

in the

Sth

1887 (1967) Harris Free Joe 95 nwGA [Black], He holler dat out eve'yday, en den, wiles he be talkin', he'd stop en look roun'. 1935 Hurston Mules & Men 241 nFL [Black], It is Midsummer Eve, and the

Sun give

special benefits then

played then.

It is

DARE Tape LA7 the frost catch the hotness;

VA55

SCI

1

and need great honor. The special drum be

a cowhide stretched over a half-barrel. 1966-70 [Black], The cane grow so late here; it be so green and

SC10

it;

.

.

—

occurs most frequently [as a variant of are] in the phrase "How are you?," where it is particularly common in n.e. N. Eng. Of the 56 spontaneous occurrences in N. Eng., 40 are in the northeast. Be is very characteristically an older form, both in N. Eng. and in those areas of

(3) with done: Will have.

further consideration.

(3) future: Will be.

1 830s), I reckon there ain't much that 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 27, Be

.

.

.

KY (as of

1947 Guthrie Big Sky 1 9 skeers you, be there, Zeb?

[Black],

[White],

Summer be a

long time 'fore

They don't be much pulled

it

get out,

off the floor

now;

be all right, but if it's going to shore water you go to pieces if the sea's heavy. 1974 PADS 61.23 Atlanta GA [Black], The invariant be form is not limited to the single function of indicating repetitive action, but may also indicate a constant state: "Cause that one be a old one, and I want the one with two sticks." "They [waffles] be already cooked, but they be frozen." "All those old snakes and alligators and things be over there." 1977 Smitherman cry Sometimes I Talkin 23 1 [Black], I be lonely all the time because I'm lonely. 1979 Ellsworth Effect of Kindergarten 139 csWI [Black children], When you be 'it', you hide your eyes. Ibid 141, They Whoever git caught and they be hafta find us and tag us and we be it caught, they hafta be It. 1980 Folb Runnin Down 37 Los Angeles CA [Black], They mean mothas. Don't be messin' wid 'em. Ibid 100, See, Black folks, they be Chicanos they be real quiet, don' say a lot righteously talkin' all d' time. Yeh, but lots of time, don' be sayin' 1981 Bailey -Bassett Invariant "Be" 11 LA, MS, anything, really. Invariant be, including "distributive be [used for actions and states across the time spectrum]", is clearly not unique to black speech. In fact, the form has a similar pattern of distribution for both races, with [White], If you keep in the channel

.

.

.

.

it

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

'

of inquiring if the contrary of a stated negative is true. "You ain't goin' up town, be ye?" "The cattle aint yourn, be they?" 1899 Garland Boy Life 143 nwIA, "They're plannin' to lick us like shucks, that's all." "Oh, they be?" 1903 2.292 Cape Cod (as of 1850s), Emphat. Inter ... be I? be yi? is he? be wi? be yi? be they? 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 17 nFL, sGA, Fowkses must live in bunches! How be it they get aroun'? Ibid 262, "Look," Cella whispered, "what be that bird a-doin'?" 1944 PADS 2.40 VA, NC, Be Present tense, all persons, singular or plural; generally employed in questions. "You be that fellow that's staying at Jink's?" "What be your name?" Rare and obsolescent.

DN

MA

.

.

.

.

education, age, and sex all influencing the pattern. However, among blacks the form is much more common and is used by a larger segment of

be

177

Ibid. Unlike Fasold, we found more examples of be used for continuous actions and general conditions than for intermittent actions. In addition, the use of invariant be for actions which occur at a definite point in time cannot be ignored. Ibid 8, Examples of Invariant When [Among] Whites [That land] don't be [sandy] Be My bispeople be together, they soon understand one another We don't be [Among] Blacks don't be spongy like hers cuits The land The horse be in the barn to hisself bothered with them

the population.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

be blue.

— often

g be

+ (s,

tion:

See quots.

-d)

[Cf

to signify habitual action or usual condi-

DNE xx

Am,

and are are employed for the present moment, while he's, is,

an assertion about an event at for all persons, indicates continuous or repeated activity." See also EDD be 1.1. But the forms be(e)s and beed may also represent analogical formations with present and past tense forms of other verbs.] chiefly Sth esp among Black speakers See also Blf above

Second person present indicative of 1917 DN 4.420 csLA, Bes [bis] "You bes on the ferry," meaning 'You are employed in some to be capacity on the ferry.' 1937 AmSp 12.268 cnVA, Which ever one they bes. 1941 Percy Lanterns 297 nwMS [Black], It don't make no difference how hard I tries or how good I bees. 1942 Rawlings Cross CreekS3 FL, Name be's Beatrice. I be's 'Geechee. Folks jes' calls me 'Geechee. 1944 PADS 2.40 sVA, Bes [biz] Present tense of be, singular or plural .. Obsolescent. 1 966 DARE Tape SC 1 7 [Black] It kinda draws and bes hot under there. It sweats and it'll just scald 'em. 1969 Black World 17.1 1.16, Black Poetry is becoming what it has always been but has not quite beed. 1972 Claerbaut Black Jargon 57, It be's that way sometimes. 1972 Atlanta Letters cGA, I bet it bees cold in the morning. 1974 PADS 61 -62.61 cnGA, "No one bees at the company" [so that the child's carpenter father might call in to the office on rainy days to inquire about reporting for work]. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 3 [Black], "It bees dat way sometime." Here the language aspect is the use of the verb be to indicate a recurring event or habitual condition, rather than a one-time-only occurrence. Ibid 19, The coffee bees cold means Every day the coffee's cold if you the cook and The coffee cold, you might only just get talked about that day, but if The coffee bees cold, pretty soon you ain't gon have no job! 1981 Bailey -Basset! Invariant "2te"18eLA [Black], It ain't too much of a river, but it rain like it rain now and water .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

bees pretty bad. Ibid 1 9 [Black], Now, soot bees down here at the bottom. Ibid [Black], It bees trees all on the other side. gets up,

it

MS

2 am. a for

finite

(1 ) pres:

Is,

forms of be. chiefly among Black speakers with littleformal

are.

Free Joe 107 ceGA, This yer one what I'm already got don't amount to 1927 Kennedy Gritny 86 sLA [Black], I'm bin gone from shucks. yonder a good w'ile. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 26 PA, C Atl, "I'm been thinking." Nearly all of [20 infs] use the form I'm /aim/ these informants are in or near the Chesapeake Bay area, and all but two fall in Type I [=old, with little educ]. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 50 eTX [Black], Young man, am you lookin' for Soul's salvation? 1968 DARE Other ways (Qu. X47, of saying, "I'm very tired, at the end of my strength") Inf NC49, 1 feel like I'm had it today. .

.

.

.

I'm

c in contr

MS

DMA

.

.

.

.

well as

MA

.

.

PADS 2.6 AL first

Am is frequently used as third person singular as FWP Lay My Burden Down 36 TX [Black],

[Black],

person.

1945

Three months

am

am man

what says we-uns believes in

.

.

folks

.

.

the total time

I's

spent going to school. I

Ibid,

There

1977 Smitheryou am the

superstition.

Talkin 15, As a former slave said, "Everything truth, but they's plenty I can't tell you."

tells

Was.

(2) past:

boy.

C

chiefly

Have been.

[Loan

from Ger Ich

transl

bin]

Atl

often follow 1934 Language 10.3 cPA, The Pennsylvania Dutch German usage: thefirst time since I'm here, instead of since I've been here. \93SAmSp 10. 167 sePA, Such expressions to the great mass of .

.

.

the

.

people speech

of .

.

.

region

this

This

is

the

.

first

.

are

time

it's

.

currency of happened since I'm here.

the

accepted

daily

b as aux: Are, have.

.

1914 "I'm is the one!" 1927 Kennedy Gritny 171 sLA [Black], You begrudge me a li'l bit o' licker to keep me from ketchin' col', wet as I'm is? 1959 Lomax Rainbow Sign 82 AL [Black], While I'm is got this trip, I'm gonna see what I can see. 1967 DARE (Qu. NN9a, Exclamations showing great annoyance) Inf AL25, I'm be damned. Z5.Y4.158

3

c\\,Am

is

.

.

.

is.

Am. chiefly Sth espfreq among Blacks 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 70 [Provincialisms to be avoided], Its'. for I am. 1875 Scribner's Mth. 10.240 AL [Black], I'se pow'ful skeered; but neversomeless I ain't gwine run away. 1893 Shands AfS Speech 17, Negroes say: "I is." 1907 DN 3.233 nwAR, seMO, I'se monstrous hungry. 1929 (1951) Faulkner Sartoris 51 [Black], "Ise gwine, Ise gwine," Simon answered pettishly. 1932 (1974) Caldwell Tobacco Road 1 1 GA [White], "Ain't you going to get a preacher to finish doing it [=marrying a couple]?" "I is not! Ain't I a preacher of the gospel?" cl937 in 1972 Amer. Slave 2. 1 5 SC, I's black as a crow. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms Fig 2 1 [The Map shows occurrences of Is I going to be concentrated in Virginia and North Carolina, with scattered examples in neighboring states]. Ibid 27, In the South is has considera also in contr I's(e):

.

.

.

.

MS

,

able currency in this phrase

more than

among Type I informants

[=old, with

little

Negro informants [use this expression]. 1966 DARE Tape GA4 [Black], He had three girls older than I is. 1973 Himes Black on Black 1 33 NYC [Black], I'se tired as you educ]

.

.

.

Ibid

are.

1

half of the Southern

36, Ise already free.

b Are. chiefly Sth, S Midi 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 70 [Provincialisms to be avoided], I is you is, for I am you are. 1894 DN 1 .340 wCT, Is is sometimes used as a .

.

.

.

demonstrative pronouns, or with two personal "Them's the kind I want." "Him and me's good friends." 1903 DN 2.292 Cape Cod MA (as of 850s). For the 3d pers. pi. is is used with any other subject than the pronoun they: His folks is away, who is them folks? Them's the new neighbors. 1932 (1974) Caldwell Tobacco Road S3 GA [White], When is you and Dude going to do all this riding around ? 1944 PADS 2.6 Sth, The forms is and are plural, especially with

pronouns

.

.

.

1

.

number by Negroes over much of the South. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 9 eTX [Black], Ah wants to see yo' fawm. Sid. Le's see what kinda fawmuh you is. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Is 1965-70 DARE .is often used with plural subjects. (Qu. B8) Inf SC32, Clouds is moving: (Qu. P9) Inf FL24, Things is slow; NC87. Fish is not biting today; (Qu. H12) Infs OK26, TN13, Eyes is bigger than his stomach; (Qu. W24a) Inf AR51, Your dry goods is ") Inf SC26, Is friends now: showing; (Qu. Y 17, "I hear they (Qu.BB19) Inf FL26, Screws is loose: (Qu.BB21) Infs MD24.SC10, 58, Bowels is tight; (Qu. EE 1 ) Inf FL48, The henchies is walking; (Qu. GG8) Inf NC55, [His] feelings is easy hurt; (Qu. HH5) Inf GA30, [His] wits is off; (QR, near Qq. N20, T10) Inf SC24, The signs is up all along; those long pods is there. [ of 5 Infs White; 1 1 Infs have grade school educ or less] 1967 DARE Tape AZ7, The Navahos is good people. 1975 Allen 2.33, The only U[pper] M[idwest] deviation from standard am and are is that of Minnesota Type I [=old, with little educ] inf. 44, who asks "Is they?" in conversation. .

.

New

.

1

1

E4UM

chiefly Sth, S Midi Cf ain't v 2 830 Royall Letters AL 39 VA, My witnesses is come and I ar ready for trial. 1844 Thompson Major Jones s Courtship 30 GA, I spose you all know as how my friends is fotched me out to represent this county in the next Legislater. 1851 Burke Polly Peablossom 96 GA, "Now you is done it," ses Bill. Tom know'd he had. 1893 Shands MS Speech MS, The verb to be is largely used, by negroes, in the place of the auxiliary to have; as, "He is got a store"; "I is had it." Is is much more frequently used in this sense than any other form of the verb to be, and generally takes the place of has. 1929 Sale Tree Named John 90 [Black], Baby is you seed dat ole black tormcat 1966-70 DARE (Qu. HI la, He ? She ) Inf KY44, Is got no manners; (Qu. K ) Infs CA 36, 1 A36, KY90, Is calved; KY39, Is come in; (Qu. AA 0) Inf G A77, He is fell for her; (Qu. CC 12a) Inf PA237, Snake eyes is got him; (Qu.

c as aux: Have, has.

1817

in

1

1

MS

.

you wanted somebody to teach the State school, and I'm come to let you know I'm willing to take the place. [Ed: archaic formal usage] 1887 (1967) Harris 1843 (1916) Hall

.

— used redund: See quots.

1

1884 Baldwin Yankee School-Teacher 177 VA, She [=a mule] am de catty-corneres' sort of beast dat eber I wur 'flicted ter own, dat she am. 1945 FWP Lay My Burden Down 37 TX [Black], It am 40 years ago now when I's first fully realize that I has the power. 1949 Gipson Hound-Dog Man 1 1 3 csTX, It were way back yonder when I'm a shirttail kid. 1969 DARE FW Addit cwNJ, Alfalfa didn't come to our country' when I'm a (3) past perf:

.

are used interchangeably for any person or

1893 Shands Speech 17, Negroes ... say: "I is," "You am," "We am," etc. 1901 82 KY [Black], Am yo' de' man? [=Are you the man?]. 1903 DN 2.292 Cape Cod (as of 1850s), The verb to be is inflected Pres. Indie. I'm, you'm, he's, we'm, you'm, they'm Interrog. em I? em yi? is he? em we? em yi? em they? 1944 .

.

DN 3.322 eAL, wGA, I'm am. A common reduplication.

1908

.

educ

be

/

Purchase 268 IN,

I

heerd,

sir,

.

.

1

1

1

,

.

.

1

.

,' ,

be

be

/

178

BB54) Inf FL 1 9, Doctors is given grade school educ or less]

him

up. [All Infs White; 6 of 8 Infs have

d Do, did. esp Gullah Note: the verb, uninflected in basilectal Gullah, may be the equivalent here of the infinitive or participle in English, so that in quot 1 928 "have known" and "have called" might be equally possible translations. Cf ain't v 3 1888 Jones Negro Myths 170 seGA coast [Gullah glossary], Yiz, am, is, to be, did. 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 161 sSC coast [Black], "Is I know love? Honey, I knew Mary asked if she knew what love is emfo-true." Ibid 100, Is you call me, July? 1945 FWP Lay My Burden Down 37 TX [Black], It am 40 years ago now when I's first fully realize 1

.

that

4

I

.

.

has the power.

are.

a Am, is. chiefly S Midi 1817 in 1830 Royall Letters

39

VA,

I

ar ready.

b Have. 1918 DA' 5.36 GA, NC, TN, "You-uns ain't got ary auger, air [=are] ye?" The word is common among most of the hillsmen of the South. c with mass noun treated as count noun. 1 954 Roberts / Bought Dog [13] K Y, There are enough wood to last a whole year.

in that tree

5 was.

when

their expense; tho' I'se a while in a twitter

Strong.

.

com'd out upon

that are [=that there]

AmSp

1941

us.

eTX

16.14

[aez b5:n]. Ibid 5, [aiz b5:n]. 1941 Stuart Men [Black], I was born ofMis. 95 neKY, I'll never forget how I felt when I's shot. 1966 AmSp 41.77, In the "common speech" .. in Pennsylvania and the rural South, a form I's is very frequently heard in contexts which seem to require the past tense I's (past) is evidently a contraction of / was ... I have occasionally heard corresponding interrogative forms, 7 such as 's I? and 's you? [for was I?, was you ]. 1972 Foxfire Book 2 .

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

I's

.

1

b Were, chiefly Midi, Sth formal educ

DN

esp

among

speakers with

little

.242

Note: once frowned upon by grammarians, subjunc was is now widespread among all classes of speakers, were having become primarily a formal usage.

1

.

.

.

1

OH

.

MO

.

.

Was rude; MD

.

Was wild; VA25, Was noisy; (Qu. 112 ) Inf NH 14, Where was you brought up?; (Qu. KK54) Inf NC55, They was good matches; (Qu. NN2) Inf NY68, You was right. last night. ") Inf KY40,

1

8,

1

[All Infs

1966 AmSp 4 1.77 PA, rural Sth, and they's are dependent on the prior substitu-

have high school educ or less]

In the plural we's, you's,

tion of was for Standard English were (which

among the

I

believe

is itself less

usual,

was a couple of generations ago). 1966-69 DARE Tape CA134, You was all by yourself; KY6, They was 18, There was sledge straps on them several companies buying ties; harnesses; VA2, Some of 'em was called back and some wasn't. 1975

even

semi-illiterate,

See also

if

so be

(1) prec a subject, without conditional // old-fash or arch 1938 Rawlings Yearling 10 FL, What would I do this fine spring day, was I a boy? 1949 Gipson Hound-Dog Man 213 csTX, Watch me'n Grizzly here. Was we to take us a notion to grab up a young filly apiece and rattle our old bones some, you young bloods'd see some caper cutting like it was meant to be done.

usu with conditional if or compar like. 1892 DN 1.237 wMO, I wouldn't go along thet-a-way, if I was you. 1927 AmSp 3.3 Ozarks, One always hears efl was you, never /// were you. 1950 Stuart Hie Hunters 85 eKY, If ye's to live here a while, ye might like it! 1965-70 DARE (Qu. A22) Inf NC48, She worked like the "/ wouldn trust him ") Infs house was on fire; (Qu. V2b, IN45, MD40. MI 1 0, TX4 If he was God himself (or the last man in the world, etc); (Qu. W41 ) Infs CT30, OK47, Looks like she was thrown (or throwed) together; (Qu. X52) Infs MI55, 107, Like he was drawn through a knothole; AR28, Like he was playing hookey from the graveyard; (Qu. Y2 ) Inf TX32, Get around like dead lice was falling off of them; AL3, Moves like the dead lice was dropping off of him; (Qu. GG2) Inf ME5, Didn't know if they was comin' or goin'; (Qu. JJ30a) Inf LA3, I'd forget my head if it wasn't hung on my shoulders; IA22, I'd lose my head if it wasn't tied to me; (Qu. KK34, "Her house always looks ") Inf TX33, Like the preacher was coming. [See also DS A 1 1 18, N12, CC12a, KK42b, 55c, 62, NN4, 13] [1975 Morris Usage 582, As Porter Perrin remarked: "Today the subjunctive is a trait of style rather than of gram mar and is used by writers chiefly to set their language a little apart from everyday usage."] .

1

than

ME

it

't

.

,

1

.

d in phr of greeting How you was?: How are you? 1950 WELS (Expressions used when you meet somebody you know quite well) Inf, ceWI, Hi! Hey, there! How you was! 1967 DARE (Qu. NNlOa) Infs AR55, TX1, How you (or ya) was? 1

6 were: Was. chiefly Sth, S Midi 1829 Kirkham Engl. Grammar 193 KY, VA, MD, MS, I war thar ... I was there. 1 884 Baldwin Yankee School- Teacher 77 VA, De catty-cor1889 Edwards neres' sort of beast dat eber I wur 'flicted ter own. Runaways 99 GA, Th' parson war erlong ter-day. 1928 Aldrich Lantern 8 NE (as of 854), Father were what they call an aristocrat. 1931 PMLA 46. 3 8 Appalachians, Use of plural for singular forms is not common, but it is sometimes heard in primitive Baptist sermons: "He were said to be." etc. 1933 Rawlings South Moon 77 FL, I were jest crossin' the river when a raft o' logs passed me. 1952 Hall Coll. wNC, from the outfit often used in the sing[ular] "He were so little and he eTN, Were were so brave" [song lyrics]. 1966 DARE Tape SC24A, He weren't supposed to sell his meat but a certain amount. 1975 Newell IfNothin Don Happen 3 nwFL, There is no set pattern for "to be." Billy might say, "It were a right cold day and I was a long way from home," using the whatever came easiest off his different forms in the same sentence tongue and flowed the smoothest. Ibid 40, I remember a Canadian feller named Jack Mayer who were a great duck hunter and knowed just 1

1

1

.

MO,

.

Not much more than one-half of the educ] use was, and none of the college

c for contrary-to-fact subj unc forms.

.

Was. Almost the only form of the verb in the past tense, which runs: / was, you was, he was, we was, etc. 1894 DN .340 wCT. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 29, You were ... In NEng ... No cultured informant uses only was, though three give this form alongside were. In the M[iddle] Atlantic] S[tates] was is practically universal in Types I and II [=those with little or average educ] (more than nine tenths of both groups use it), but is rare in cultured speech ... In the Sfouth] Atlantic] S[tates], also, was is practically in Type II. Only universal in Type I and it is strongly predominant four cultured informants (Va. and N.C.) give the form was. [The same general patterns hold for we was.] 1965-70 DARE (Qu. A 16) Infs SC34, VA36, Since the woods was afire {or on fire); (Qu. A2 ) Inf KY7, 12, 58, SC7, (We just You wasn't born in a minute; (Qu. P9) Infs 10, They said) they wasn't biting (or bitin', a-biting); (Qu. W29) Inf wasn't done very neatly; (Qu. BB18) Inf VA2, Vomit till I thought my "For a while those fellows insides was a-coming out; (Qu. EE21b, ") Infs FL14, KY29, M05, SC3, 32, TN59, Was fighting really "They certainly (or knocking, slinging it out, etc.); (Qu. FF18, 1

little

graduates.

1

nGA, "If I's stout enough I could pull it out (struggling) but I ain't." Ibid 23, "I don't know where my oven is. I's studyin' about it th' other day."

1892

MW,

Upper

[=old, with

.

a in contrs I's(e), ize. esp Midi, Sth See also B3a above 1829 Kirkham Engl. Grammar 192 NEng, He sade no; and then ize up a stump. 1834 Life Andrew Jackson 228 eTN, We had the snigger at feller

LAUM 2.34

Type

(2)

AL

1843 (1846) Haliburton Attache ( 1 st ser) 2.147 TN, I'm whipped, that are a fact; and thar is no denyin' of it. 1848 (1855) Ruxton Life Far West 90, Thar arn't a devil as hisses thar, as can 'shine' with this child, I tell you. 1 887 Scribner's Mag. 474/2 AR, She are mighty fair-minded. Ibid 484/2, I 1891 Page Elsket 137 VA [Black], "Whar air are plum' surprised. P'laski?' I tell him I don' know whar P'laski air. 1901 DN 2.181 neKY [Black], Areis, am. 1928 Aldrich Lantern 1 1 NE (as of 1854). She aren't going to give 'em to us until our wedding days. 1974 PADS 61.66 Atlanta GA [Black], She are too crazy.

wicket

Allen

.

.

.

.

't

.

.

.

—

about

all

there were to

know about

ducks.

7 been. a Have been, has been, had been. 1802 in 924 Steele Papers 1 .250 NC, I have had but one bushel & half of Sault Sence I been under your Dirrection for the Stock. 1952 Brown jVC Folkl. 1 .5 19, Been Used even by educated persons who would never use taken and seen in the same way. "Where you been all day, General. Common. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, I been chopHenry?" pin' down trees. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Been, often used for have been; "Where you been lately?" 1966 - 69 DARE (Qu. W4 1 ) Inf TX 1 1 Clothes look like they been slept in; IL96, Looks like their clothes been throwed at them; (Qu. X42) Inf FL26, I been awake ever since six In the best ofhealth)lnfAR47 ,Likeljustbeenlet o'clock; (Qu.BB47, out of a cage; (Qu. 1139) Inf C038, You been a dear; (Qu. NNlOa) Inf OKI 1, How you been?; MN10, Where ya been keepin' yourself?; (Qu. NNlOb) Inf WA24, Been a long time since I saw you. 1972 Foxfire Book 22 nGA, I been awful little all my life. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 22, Generally where Black English speakers use been, White English speakers would use have, has, or had^\w% been. Black English: He been Black English: there before. White English: He has been there before 1

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

— be

179

She been there and left before I even got there. White English: She had been there and left before I even got there. 1 978 Parade 1 6 Apr 2 1 /2 FL, It's possible I been hurt. It's possible I been bad hurt.

b followed by a particle (here spelled a, er, or uh) which functions as auxiliary to a following uninflected verb. Note: the constr

Creole (Gullah),

is

been |bm|

+

da aux verb

its

+

prob verb.

basilectal

When

components being 1

5

takes the place of da, and later, -ingis added to the verb. Ex: |bm da kAm| > |bm a kAm| spelled binnuh come (see quot 1922) > been a-coming am {or was, have been) coming. 1888 Jones Negro Myths 65 seGA, Two fren, dem bin a mek one journey togerruh [=Two friends were making a journey together]. Ibid 1 03, Es de ole man bin er pass long eh notus um [=As the old man passed along he noticed him]. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 36 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], One buckruh binnuh talk 'puntop de flatfawm [=A white man was talking on the platform]. Ibid 62, Uh binnuh walk duh paat' [=1 been a-walking the path]. 1949 Turner Africanisms 225, In Gullah also, [bins] 'been' placed before a verb may be expressed in English by the past, perfect, or pluperfect tense and the action may or may not be continuous: [wot una bma du] means 'What did you do?' or 'What were you doing?' or 'What have you done?' or 'What have you been doing?' or 'What had you done?' or 'What had you been doing?'

c prec a pres pple: equivalent to

have

+

past pple, used to

indicate continuity over time.

1898 Westcott

Harum 340 cNY, I ben losin' him over an' agin all these

FW

DARE Addit LA7, Yeah, I been knowing Mister Joe for forty years now; csLA, I been knowing Flossie since she was sixteen. 1970 DARE Tape VA38, I've been owning my farm ever since I years.

bought

1967-68

it

d in var other constrs: See quots. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 63 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], Uh Tengk Gawd uh did'n' bin hab on uh new britchiz![=l thank God I didn't have on a new (pair of) breeches!]. 1942 Faulkner Go Down 74 MS [Black], We been had it [=a marriage license] since I sold my cotton last fall. 1966 DARE Tape SC10 [Black], One time we used to have a short summer. And i' been a long winter. F been cold But one time it use' to been so cold right first of the winter; SCI 6 [Black], But no tobacco been here then. 1982 Parade 1 9 Dec 5/4 VA [White], Then come all the pretty Christmas cards. It was the happiest time of my life. It stillbeen the .

.

.

happiest time.

a absence of are. (1) following interrog pron.

1829 Kirkham Engl. Grammar 193 MD, VA, KY, MS, Whar you gwine? Where are you going 9 1903 2.293 Cape Cod (as of 1850s), After where, are is omitted: "Where you from?" "Where you going?" 1932 ( 1 974) Caldwell Tobacco Road 83 GA, When you going to buy a new automobile? 1965-70 DARE (Qu. W38) Infs IN 15, MI78, OKI 8, 42, WI27, Where you going to preach (today, tonight, this evening)?; M05, 27, Where you (or ya) gonna preach?; (Qu. II 15) Infs C047, MI55, Where you going (in such a hurry)?; (Qu. MM22) Inf M027, Where you from?; (Qu. NNlOa) Inf LA37, Where ya at dere?; .

MA

DN

.

LA45, Where you

.

at?

(2) following noun or personal pron. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 398 FL, You mighty biggety now. 1952 O'Connor Wise Blood 57 GA, You the first familer face I seen in two months. 1966 DARE Tape SCI 7, Seems like some days they off and some days they on. 1972 Orbis (Louvain) 21.26 TX, Colleges just like business. Ibid 27 TN, They right over here. 1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 1 5 eMD, They so dumb they can't see where the start of it is. 1

—

b absence of is or was often to signify the non-habitualness of the action or event described, espfreq among Blacks Note: this constr was prob reinforced in Black usage by substrate infl from Afr languages in which absence of copula is structurally normal. 1776 in 1977 Smitherman Talkin 9 [Black], Me massa name Cunney Tomsee. 1872 (1973) Thompson Major Jones's Courtship 103 GA, I hadn't no sort of a idee how she gwine to do it. 1887 (1967) Harris Free Joe 95 nwGA [Black], He'd stop en look roun' en say, 'Whar Trunion?' 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 16 seTX [Black], His pappy Tom jes' ez 'sponsibul as li'l Bill be. 1972 Orbis (Louvain) 2 .22 Sth, Be finite and the absence of be, two features which social dialectologists have persistently called features of "Black speech", are structures which I have found in the speech of the alltime defenders of white supremacy the

W

1

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

C Neg constrs.

See also ain't v and v 2 hain't, 1

twan't

tain't,

,

1 present.

a beant, also sp ban 't, beent, beint, ben 't, beunt: chiefly

are not.

NEng

Am not,

is

not,

CfEDD

old-fash

1702 (1972) Mather Magnolia 3.182/1 MA, / beent afraid, I thank 2 CT, "Well! God, I been afraid to die! 1810(1912) Bell Journey to "You bant though to New ConnectiGals where are you going?" cut? Why what a long journey!" 1815 Humphreys Yankey in England, am, or as [sic], or are not. 1818 Fessenden Ladies Ban't, Ben't Monitor 1 7 1 VT, Provincial words and phrases ban for are not or be not. 1836 (1838) Haliburton Clockmaker (1st ser) 64, They beant 1.328 good saddle horses, and they beant good draft beasts. 1894 NJ, Beant: negative form of [be]; used for both am not and are not. 1905 3.3 cCT, Beunt. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 197 nFL, sGA, Beint ye a-comin back, Cella? 1971 Down East Nov 25 ME, Beant still exists in Maine for "are not" and "is not."

OH

't

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

't

.

DN

.

.

DN

b

isn't:

usu prone

PADS

1949 is

1

|'iznt|;

cl960 Wilson

1966-67

it].

MS 15, Id'n

also occas |'idn(t),

1.7 viTX,'ld'nt ['idnt]

often ['idnt] or fitnt].

['idnt

.

.

.

Coll.

'itnt|.

Not limited esp among children,

Occasional.

Isn't.

csKY, Isn

't,

1965-68 DARE (Qu. NN3) Infs OK I'm right on that, idn't sump'm?

DARETape COl,

['idn] that

1

4,

PA69,

['idnt] I?;

2 past: usu wasn't I'wAznt, waznt|, weren't |'w3K9)nt|; also:

a I'watn, 'wadn(t), 'wAdnt|.

Pronc-sp wadn't.

?chiefly Sth,

Midi 1949 PADS 11.12 wTX, Wadn't ['wadnt] Common. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 32, The assimilation of /z/ to /d/ before /n/ /wadant/, /wAdant/ is recorded a number of times in the South .

—

—

.

.

—

Midland and in S.C. and it shows up a few times in n. and w. N.Y. mainly in rapid conversation. 1960 (1962) Lee Mockingbird 101 sAL, Maybe he wadn't mad, maybe he was just crazy. 1967 DARE FW Addit nwAR, Wasn't [watn] or [wa'n]. The young man who used this pronunciation was from the Ozarks ... I have heard it from the younger people here, too, and from a middle-aged Florida cracker. It is more commonlv pronounced [wadn] through the Ozarks. 1968 DARE (Qu. P9) Inf LA29. Fish wad'n bitin'. 1972 Foxfire Book 30 nGA, Ulysses said they wadn't no use. 1975 Allen LAUM 2.43, The assimilated form /wAdant/ appears in the speech of four scattered Type I .

8 Forms of be omitted.

.

.

.

to the uneducated.

in thirty-six.

be

Klu [sic] KJux KJan. Ibid 24, He our mean and ugly bastard ... He runnin' a cripple third ... He not gonna to carry anything. Ibid 27, He mad ... He over there ... He always comin' by my place. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 5, [West African languages allow for the construction of sentences without a form of the verb to be. Thus we get a typical African -English Pidgin sentence such as "He tell me he God," used at the Salem witch trial in 1692]. a slave Ibid 21, The Black by English speaker omits be when referring to conditions that are fixed in time and to events or realities that do not repeat themselves He a He too tall for me. hippie now .

decreolized, a prep

/

.

[=older, less educated] infs.

b |want, wont, wont|. Pronc-spp want, won't, chiefly NEng, NY, nPA; also Sth, esp eVA, eNC For map see 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms Figs 24, 30 1795 Dearborn Columbian Grammar 139 ["List of Improprieties"], Want for Was not. 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 135 IN, He wan't nere so stuck up a feller as folks said. 1 891 DN 1 .69 LA, NEng, Wa 'n [wont]: wasn't. "He said he wa'n't goin' to do it." 1892 DN 1 .234 KY, MI, Wa'n't. 1893 Shands MS Speech 67, Want [wont]. Negro and illiterate white for was not or were not. 1894 DN 1 .340 wCT, The past tense is was (neg. wa 'n pron [wont] in all cases. 1898 Lloyd CountryLife 19 AL, We think the plan of the government would go all to smash and smithereens if we want runnin the machinery. 1905 DN 3.23 cCT, Wan 1907 DA' 3.203 seNH, Wa 'n 1909 Ibid 2 9 nwAR, Wa 'n DA 3.386 eAL, wGA, Wa'n't. 1910 DAr 3.451 cwNY, Want. 1939 FWP These are Our Lives 6 ceNC, He found out that they won't going to be a cent left after the bills was paid. 1944 PADS 2.5 nLA, eNC, SC, cTN, sVA, Wa'n't Was + not, were + not. 1950 PADS 14.72 SC, Won "We won there when it happened." 1952 Brown AC Folkl. 't

't

—

't.

)

't.

't.

1

1

.

't

.

.

.

.

.

't

1.604 c,eNC, Wa'n't [wont, want]

.

.

.

"He

wa'n't there yesterday."

1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 32, Was not The form wan /want/, /wont/, and sometimes /wont/ shows a striking geographic distribution. Throughout N. Eng., except for R.I., parts of c. and w. Mass., and s. Vt., this form is extremely common ... It appears among all types of informants, including one fourth of the cultured group. In N.Y. and n. Pa. it also appears in a good many communities, .

't

.

usually

.

.

among Type

I

informants [=old, with

.

.

.

little

educ] only. In the

beach aster

beach pea

/

180

Southern area wan is very solid in Ridge, and almost as common in cultured group in this area,

e.

't

e.

Va., extending inland to the Blue

N.C.

.

.

used

It is

.

.

by half the

old-fash ox arch 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 145 IN, I'll be doggd if thare warn't a wild cat jist goin to spring. 1942 Whipple Joshua 14 UT (as of c 1860), I'd forget my head if it warn't fastened on. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 32/1, Warn't /warnt/ or /wornt/ is not very common anywhere, being found only in scattered communities, mainly along the Southern 2.43, Warn 't occurs coast and in w. N.C. and w. Va. 1975 Allen in the conversation of a Type I [=older, less educated] Minnesota housewife ... "I warn't /wBrnt/ through." 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 99 sAppalachians, There wahrn't no water in the well.

LAUM

d other forms of weren 't: See quot. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 32/1, The preterite negative form Weren /w3nt/ is of to be is recorded in the context "It (wasn't) me." found in several communities in coastal N.C, and there are a few The unusual form werdn /w3dnt/ scattered occurrences elsewhere or /w3tnt/ occurs five times in Delmarva and once on the lower Susque.

.

.

=gaillardia.

PADS

1951

Pronc-spp wahrn % warn 't.

c |warnt, wornt|.

beach daisy n Also beach red-daisy

.

't

't

.

hanna.

3 as a tag question: See DS NN3, and ainna, interrog exclam 2 enty, inso.

2 ain't v , ain't

it

5.42

i

(Qu. S26e,

.

.

.

.

.

—

and yellow, grow on beach.

dollars; red

beach

flea n =piping plover. 1951 Pough Audubon Water Bird 319, Beach flea. See Piping 1956 AmSp 31.183 NY, Beach flea— Piping plover.

plover.

beach

fly n 1965-70 DARE (Qu. R12, Other kinds of flies) Infs FL22, HIM, NH 8, NY34, PA246, Beach fly; MI37, Some call 'em beach flies, others call 'em fish flies, and one person I know calls 'em stable flies; [it's the] 1

size

of a house

fly,

stings terribly; speckled.

beach grass n Either of two sand-binding grasses: Ammophila arenaria, which is also called sea sand reed and sea matweed, or A. breviligulata. 1681 in 1887 East Hampton NY Records 2.102, Thomas Bee doth maintaine a fence one the beach down soe low as any .

,

TX, Gaillardia pulchella

Beach red-daisy. 1967 Other wildflowers) Inf TX12, Beach daisy— brownish and yellowish streaks; TX15, Beach daisy also called sand

DARE

.

.

.

.

.

Beach grass groues. 1782 Crevecoeur Letters 28 seMA, Those declining grounds which lead to the sea-shores abound with beach grass, a light fodder when cut and cured, but very good when fed green. al862 ( 865) [see beach pea]. 1947 Atlantic Mlh. Sept 35/2 Cape Cod MA, We made headquarters on a small beach-grass rise opposite Fish Hog Eddy. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. L34, Important crops) Inf NC76, American beach grass: (Qu. S8, Wild grass it spreads by sending out long underground roots hard to get rid of) Inf AK1, Beach grass grows along seashores; (Qu. S9, Kinds ofgrass) Inf NC76, American beach grass; WI32, Beach grass. 1

beach aster n =seaside daisy.

1

1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 304, Beach-Aster. Erigeron glaucus. Eri1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 534, Beach Aster geron glaucus. 1934 Haskin Wild Flowers Pacific Coast 367, Beach Erigeron glaucus. 1954 CA Div. Beaches & Parks Pt. Lobos Aster Wild Flowers 19, Seaside Daisies, also called beach asters, begin to bloom by the middle of April and continue their great display until late

—

.

.

fall.

A succulent shrub (Scaevola plumeri) with white or pinkish flowers followed by black, juicy berries native to the Gulf coast and Florida Keys. Also called inkberry 1971 Craighead Trees S. FL 94, Some of the more characteristic trees bay cedar, beachand shrubs of the beaches and coastal ridges are berry, and saffron plum. 1982 Naples Now May 36 sFL, Walking .

.

.

along stretches of beach, one might notice the inkberry or beach berry, a succulent plant that can reach four feet. It has sprawling stems that spread under the sand to form extensive colonies.

beach burr n Also beach clotbur, ~ cocklebur A cockleburr 1 (here: Xanthium strumarium). 1936 Winter Plants NE 37, Beach Cocklebur. On river and lake banks 1

1961 House Wild Flowers 287, Beach inland as far west as N.D. Clotbur ... An annual, coarse, rough herb of seashores and river Wildfl P1.2 1 3 Inf NC28, Beach burr. beaches. 1966

QR

DARE

beach clam n

A

surf clam, esp Spisula solidissima. 1793 in 1 889 Huntington NY Town Rec. 3. 1 70, That no Beach Clams on the south side of the Islands be catched by any Person Whatsoever Oyster-Industry Ingersoll 242, to Sell to Boatmen. 1881 Clam Many kinds are distinguished by an additional definitive word, prefixed, as beach-clam (Mactra), etc. 1931-33 LANE Worksheets seRI, Beach clam: a large clam. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

beach heather n

beachberry n

.

.

.

.

A

heathlike plant of the genus Hudsonia.

Also called barren

heath, dog's dinner, false heather, gold heather, ground cedar, poverty grass For other names of var spp see bear grass 4, cloth-of-gold

1, field

pine,

ground moss

1900 Lyons Plant Names 194,//. tomentosa

Beach Heather. 1913 Torreya 13.251, Many herbaceous plants cover the ground dense tufts of beach heather, Hudsonia tomentosa. 1931 Clute Common Plants 69, The heather is rare or missing with us, but a little heather-like plant of sandy regions is a good substitute as the beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa). 1951 Hough Singing in Morning 39, New England cushions (and mattresses) have been stuffed with everything first and last, and dried beach heather can be no worse than corn husks or seaweed. 1976 Bruce How to Grow Wildflowers 215, Another matHudsonia former dots the white dunes behind the head of the beach tomentosa, called Beach-heather though not a true heather at all. .

.

.

.

.

.

—

beach lavender n =sea lavender. 1943 Pratt Barefoot Mailman 4 FL, On the other was a tangled vegetation of sea grapes, beach lavender, flowering Spanish bayonet, and half a dozen kinds of palms.

beach morning glory n

.

=railroad vine, chiefly HI 1929 Pope HI Wayside Plants 173, Beach Morning-glory Ipomoea pes-caprae seems to prefer the coral sands above high tide. 1948 (\965)'Nea\ Gardens HI709, Beach morning-glory is a vigorous vine commonly seen creeping on sandy beaches just above high-water mark. 1979 Bushnell Stone ofKannon 271 HI, The only relief for the eyes in this bleakness is a thin verge of green along the shore, where coarse grass and pohuehue, the beach morning glory, cling to the wet sand. 1

.

.

beach clotbur See beach burr

.

1967-68 DARE (Qu. BIO, Long trailing clouds high in the sky) Inf PA26, Beach clouds; (Qu. Bl 1) Inf SCI 1, Beach clouds— high, thin, .

.

moving, wispy.

beach cocklebur See beach burr

beachcomber n

.

.

.

.

beach cloud n

.

.

2 A white-flowered morning glory (Ipomoea stolonifera) found along the Gulf coast. 1961 Wills- Irwin Flowers TX 175, The Goat-foot-creeper is often in the company of the Beach Morning-glory, /. stolonifera ... a whiteflowered species. 1972 Brown Wildflowers LA 149, Beach Morningglory Confined to the sandy beach along the Gulf above high tide level Also Texas and Mississippi. .

Perh the piping plover or the semipalmated plover. 1970 DARE (Qu. Q10, Water birds and marsh birds) Inf SC69, .

.

Beachcomber.

.

beach crow n =northwestern crow. 1968 DARE (Qu. Ql 1, fish

.

crow.

.

.

.

.

.

.

beach pea n Also beach sweet pea .

.

Kinds of blackbirds) Inf

AK1, Beach crow,

A leguminous, usu purple-flowered plant (Lathyrus maritimus) found on beaches and seashores. 1802

MA

Also called sea pea seMA, Beach grass, the beach

Hist. Soc. Coll. 1st ser 8.145

beach plum

181

grow here luxuriantly, a 1862 (1865) Thoreau Cape Here and there were tracts of Beach-grass mingled with the 1967-70 DARE (Qu. Golden-rod and Beach-pea. Sea-side purple and magenta; Wild/lowers) Inf 100, Beach pea S26e, MA57, Beach sweet pea grows in beach sand, bush a foot high; several purple flowers on one stem. pea, beach ivy,

Cod

.

.

124,

—

MA

.

.

—

chiefly Mast, esp NEng shrub (Prunus maritima). A seacoast 1784 in 1785 Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Memoirs 1.449 eMA, Prunus, Beach, or Sea-Side Plumb The fruit of some of them,

beach plum n

.

.

.

.

.

is

.

.

.

1810

well-tasted. .

in

7)

+

Confused, addled. 1917

ADD sWV.

1944

in

1939 Ibid

nWV,

I'm beattled

(|bi'aet|d|).

1966-70 DARE (Qu. GG2, Expressions meaning "confused, mixed up") Inf OK18, [bijaedjd]; OH95, [bi'jaedald]; (Qu. HH5, Someone who is queer but harmless) Inf CA66, Be-addled but nice.

beadle

A

of beagle]

n, also attrib [Alter

beagle.

1930s

ADD IN, eWV,

1944

in

1938 (1955)

Beadle.

Dogs trot along in gangs under the leadership of a

386,

FWP

Guide

DE

setter or a beadle

.

(rabbit hound).

dog

bead

n [From the beadlike

lily

berries]

A plant of the genus Clintonia. names of var spp

amber

see

Also called bluebead. For other balsam bell, bearberry 5, bear

bell,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ME

,

{OED

[be- prefix

addled]

.

1889 East Hampton NY Records shall be permitted to pick or gather any cranber4.365, No person 1856 ries, beach plums or bayberries on any of the common lands. Whittier Panorama 138 ME, Where the purple beach-plum mellows / On the bluffs. 1892 B. Torrey Foot-path Way 78 (DAE), The beachplum crop was a failure. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 244 CT, Beach The fruit is sometimes gathered for preserves. 1939 Wolcott Plum Yankee Cook Book 308, The beach plum is found rooted in the dunes along the beaches of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard where excavations bring nothing to light but coarse beach sand. 1946 Sat. Eve. Post 3 Aug 70/1 Long Island NY, We descended toward the marsh, keepof the sumacs and ing in the concealment of the trees, and later, bayberries and beach plums. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 146) Infs CT16, DEI 1, 5, MA40, 50, 55, 72, 98, NJ39, 55, Beach plum(s); (Qu. 153) Inf NJ39, Beach plums.

when fully ripe,

be-addled ppl adj Also sp be-attled

beady

/

beach quail n =knot n 2

corn 1, bear plum, bear tongue, bride's bonnet, calf corn, cornflower 2, corn lily, cowtongue 1, dogberry, dog plum, globe amorette, hatpin plant, hound's tongue, northern lily, queen cup, wild corn, wild lily-of-the-valley, wood lily 1948 Wherry Wild Flower Guide 19, White Beadlily (Clintonia umbelIbid 20, Yellow Beadlily (Clintonia borealis). 1961 Douglas lulata). My Wilderness 23 1 White Mts NH, The bead lily (Clintonia borealis), with greenish-yellow flowers, appears in unexpected places. With it grows the painted trillium. 1964 Campbell Great Smoky Wild/lowers Both species are Clintonia borealis 38, Clintonia umbellulata also called bead lily. 1966 DARE Wildfl QR PI. 1 7 Inf MI3 1 Bead lily. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific NW689, Clintonia Bead.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.52, Knot

.

.

.

Vernacular

.

Names

.

.

In local use.

.

-

-Beach

quail (Tex.).

beach red-daisy See beach daisy beach robin n esp NC =knot n 2 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds

bead The

Again at Moriches, L[ong] I[sland], and at Morehead, N[orth] Qarolina], Beach-Robin. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.52, Knot Vernacular Names In local use. Beach-robin (N.C.). 1955 AmSp 30.181 NY, NC, The knot is also known as beach robin. 1966 DARE (Qu. Water birds and marsh birds) Inf NCI, 12, Beach robin. Q10, 179, [Knot]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

beachwood n

DARE File,

Beachwood

— driftwood. Heard

DARE (Qu.

1

game of marbles.

EE8) Inf FL37, Bead

line.

a-doing v phr Also be doing

To do something merely

to have something to do. 1902 DN 2.229 sIL, Be a doin "... To pass the time; 'Whatche comin' around here for? O, jes to be a doin'.' 1906 DN 3 A 15 sIN. 1907 DN 3.220 nwAR. 1937-39 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, "Got drunk just to be you say 'just to be a-doin'." "Pap asks you what you done that for a-doin'." 1968 DARE(Qu. NN12a, Things that people say to put a child off when he asks too many questions: "What's that for?") Inf M016, Oh,

bead-puller n [In ref to rosary beads]

In marble play: a cheap marble.

1958

starting line in a

just to be doin'.

in eastern U.S.

bead n 1

PADS 29.30 WI,

Cf bead

A Roman

line

Bead.

responses spit

a bead

to rid oneself of the

is

brown juice.

and

puller

.

CfD5CC4

.

Chicago IL, The Catholic is identified by multiple is found only among Protestants as are bead-

Roman

.

.

.

derog

Catholic.

PADS AIM

1964

2 A squirt of tobacco juice. 1968 DARE (Qu. DD4) Inf SC54, To

.

—

beach sweet pea See beach pea 1965

be

n Cf bead n

line

1966

.

.

Clintonia.

lily;

.

.

statue-lover.

bead ruby n Also ruby bead

3 In moonshining: the bubbles that form when whiskey is shaken and that are an indicator of quality. 1917 DN 4.408 wNC, KY, Bead ... In moonshine whiskey, iridescent bubbles that form when the liquor is shaken up. 1964 Faulkner Hamlet 49 MS, He shook the bottle and raised it to the light as though testing the bead. 1969 DARE Tape GA72, The bead— which is the bubble, when you shake it if the bead flies up there coarse it's high proof; if it's very fine, it's low proof. 1972 Foxfire Book 337 nGA, This helps the mixture begin working, and helps the final product hold a good bead. 1974 Maurer KY Moonshine 3, Bead ... The little bubbles that form

—

.

.

=false lily-of-the-valley. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7. 102, Maianthemum Canadense bead ruby, N.Y. Probably from the beauty of the berries. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 13, M. Canadense ... Mayflower, ruby-bead. 1954 Sharpe 101 Wildflowers 11, Beadruby ... Maianthemum dilatatum Fruit a reddish-speckled, green berry, lasting from July till September. 1961 Douglas My Wilderness 23 1 NH, On shady trails the Canada bead-ruby (Maianthemum canadense) grows, showing a delicate raceme of white flowers above two bright waxy leaves. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1 1

along the meniscus of liquor when shaken in a bottle, allowing an experienced moonshiner to judge the proof and quality of the liquor with great accuracy. "This stuff holds a good bead."

bead tree

n, also attrib

the fruits as beads;

=Chinaberry

Also beadwood [From the former use of 1668 Sth ]

OED

—

1.

4 In phr put the bead on: see quot. Cf bee n 2 1968 DARE (Qu. Y6, Words meaning to put pressure on somebody to

1847 Darlington /lg. Botany 21, Pride of India. Bead-tree This tree has been introduced into the Southern States, as an ornamental shade

do something he ought

to

tree,

I'm going

")

1

bead

to

have done but hasn 't: "He's a whole week Inf MN15, Put the bead on him.

late.

v [bead n 3]

In moonshining: see quot 1974. 1969 [see break v C7]. 1972 Foxfire Book 333 nGA, We use what we call 'mule feed' for malt, and we add beading oil to make it bead good. 1974 Maurer KY Moonshine 3, Bead ... To form bubbles and hold them around the surface periphery, as liquor tends to do. "This don't bead so good." 1

.

—

.

.

1911 Century Diet., and is now, perfectly naturalized. Melia Variously known as pride-of-India, bead-tree, false sycamore, etc. 1937 Hall Coll. wNC, eTN, To cure blood poison, use catnip and beadwood bark boiled together and made into a poultice. 1952 Taylor Plants Colonial Days 24, The chinaberry has other common names, among them A spring tonic.) bead tree. 1966 DARE (Qu. BB50d, .

.

.

.

Inf

.

.

.

.

NC30, Bead-wood

1

beady See biddy n 3

tea.

.

beaft

/

beaner

182

beaft prep [Perh from by +

but c(ME baft and abaft]

aft;

NEng

VA

OH66, PA 1 42, Bealing [ 1 5 of 1 8 Infs old]; (Qu. hard, painful swelling under the skin) Infs OH50, PA74, Bealing; (Qu. BB33a, A swelling under the skin, bigger than a pimple, 1

Bealin' in his head;

,

BB30,

coast

Behind, in back of. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 31 ME, Cape Cod, Long Island, Beaft. Same as abaft [=behind], and more common in later years, both at sea and alongshore. Perhaps a manufactured word, on the analogy of before. 1974 AmSp 49.61 swME (as of c 1900), Be-aft ... In back of.

.

A

.

.

.

that

comes

to a

.

.

head) Infs

TNI 2, WV13,

Bealing.

beak v

To

talk excessively or maliciously; to "peck" at someone. 1947 Ballowe The Lawd 183 LA [Black], They [=hussies] beaked an' clawed me, comin' an' gwine. 1968 DARE (Qu. HH7b, Someone who ")InfPA66, Beaking. talks too much, ortooloud: "He'salways [Inf Black] 1969 DARE Tape 100, Who've you been beaking with?

OH

[Alter of boil a pustule;

beal n Also sp beel "Obs. or dial."]

OED

cl400

—*,

=bealing. 1942 Hench Coll. swVA, All sores were 'beels.' At first I thought that meant boils, but a doctor told me that they meant any kind of infection. 1967ZX4/?£'(Qu. BB37, When yellowish stuffcomes out ofa person's ear, he has ) Inf OH 15, Beals.

beal v [beal n]

To

chiefly Appalachians

beamy

fester or suppurate.

1895 DN 1.384 swPA, Beal: to suppurate. 1916 DN 4.337 cs,wPA, 4.408 wNC, SC. 1939 AmSp 14.155 WV. l942Hench SC. 1917 Coll. swVA, A doctor told me that they meant [by the word 'beel'] any kind of infection, and they would say 'my arm is beeling' or 'my foot has beeled.' 1944 PADS 2.26 cwOH, cwNC, Beal [bil]. 1965-70 DARE yellowish stuff is coming (Qu. BB36, When there's an open sore and out of it, you say it's ) Infs MI27, 55, NY105, PA237, SCI 1, Bealing; (Qu. BB37, When yellowish stuff comes out ofa person's ear, he has a ) Inf MI55, Bealing ear.

ZW

.

bealed ppl esp

wPA

See

Usu of an 1903 ear.'

mon

adj Also sp beeled

[beal v]

.

chiefly Appalachians,

Map

in the

beam

Usu of a

person: broad, wide. 1974/lmS/>49.61swME(asofcl900),fieam>'. Physically broad (of a person). 1975 Gould Lingo 9, Beamy Wide. The width of a vessel is her beam, and a beamy boat is traditionally a comfortable one .

.

—

ME

with room for name and hail Beamy is a favorite Maine adjective for a lady with steatopygous accumulation. .

.

bean n See beaner

.

2

bean v See be A2 Std:

Sore and suppurating, as a 'bealed 1965 Weller Yesterday's People 1 19 sAppalachians, Other comcomplaints are "beeled head," "low blood," and "nerves."

DARE (Qu.

quot 1975; cf the naut phr broad

bean aphid n

ear: infected, abscessed.

DN 2.349 MN,

1965-70

adj [See

used in same sense]

Bealed

.

BB37) 41

.

.

Appalachians, Bealed ear. 1979 Stegner Recapitulation 96 UT, "Maybe you could go swimming." "Where? There's only Warm Springs, and last time I was out there I got a Related to bealed ear." 1982 Barrick Coll. sePA, Bealed— infected Infs, chiefly

.

.

An

aphid (esp Aphis fabae or A. rumicis) which feeds on Also called black dolphin, black fly,

various plants, esp beans. collier n dolphin fly 1

,

bean The

bird n

eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe). 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 198, Phoebe Other Names. Bird; Bean Bird. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 401. .

.

.

.

— Phoebe

.

.

bean day n

boil, n.

See quot. Cf DJE Banian Day 1918 DN 5. 15 Martha's Vineyard MA, Bean day. A day when fishermen catch no fish and must eat beans as a substitute. "We can't get out to 1

the trap, so

I

guess

it'll

be a bean-day."

practice of serving baked beans on Saturday] 1926 AmSp 2.78 ME, It may be near enough "bean day," which is Saturday, so that you will be regaled with cold or "warmed-up" beans.

[From the

2 Saturday.

bean eater See beaner

2

beaner n 1

See quots.

DN

Term of appreciation, or compliment; 3.541 NE, Beaner equivalent to fine or excellent. "That new dress is a beaner," "That story is a beaner." 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang29.2, Something 1911

excellent

.

.

.

.

.

.

Beaner.

2 also attrib, also bean, bean eater, beano: origin,

bealing n formerly chians See Map

An

more widespread, now

chiefly

Appala-

abscess or boil, esp in the ear. 1824 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 259 swNC, Your negro woman Easther has been verry bad with a bealing on her brest. 1886 Amer. Philol. Assoc. Trans. 17.37 Sth, Bealing, a 'boil or sore.' Very common 1902 DN 2.229 sIL. in East Tennessee, and known also in the West. 1912 £W 3.571 wIN. 1914 ZW4. 103 KS. 1927 AmSp 2.348 WV, He has a bad bealing on his hand. 1959 Hench Coll. VA Mts, A Charlottes] ville V[irgini]a doctor said that "a bealing [is] an infection of the ear." 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. BB37, When yellowish stuff comes out of a person's ear, he has a ) 15 Infs, chiefly Appalachians, Bealin';

chiefly

SW

A person of Mexican

derog

1919 DN 5.63 NM, Bean-eater, a name given to the low class Mexicans. "That row of adobes is filled with bean-eaters." 1944 Adams Western Words, Bean-eater A nickname for a Mexican. 1965-70ZX4.R.£'(Qu. HH28) Inf CAM, Beans; CA169, 183, 190, Beaner; CA8, Beano; (Qu. 1125) Inf CA 161, Bean eaters. A newspaper columnist of our town [=Red Bluff] once referred to the division of the artichoke eaters and [the] bean eaters; (Qu. W42a) Inf CA 183, Beaner shoes— Mexican; (Qu. N5) Inf because beaners, i.e., Mexicans, drive them. CA177, Beaner wagon cl971 Hall Snake River Valley 1 inf, swID, Beano. 1974 DARE File cWI [Among students], Beaner: Mexican migrant worker. Beaner wagon: The kind of car the Mexican migrant workers drive.

—

—

beanery

183

beanery n, also attrib 1 A cheap restaurant,

chiefly Nth,

N

Map

Midi See

1888 Texas Siftings 1 Jan 4/2 (OEDSj, In a beanery you get biscuit fresh from the nest, Canada grouse from New Jersey and immigrant waiters. 1915 DN 4.243 MT. 1918 Z)A 5.10 KS. 1919 DN 5.22 N\V. 1925 AmSp 1.38 CA, eMA. 1926 (1939) Hemingway Torrents 21 MI, Inside the door of the beanery Scripps O'Neil looked around him. 1932 Santa Fe Employes' Mag. Jan 35, A railroad eating house is called a bean1940 Cottrell Railroader 1 19, ery ; a waitress is a beanery queen. A waitress in a Beanery. 1950 WELS (A small eating Beanery queen A place) 6 Infs, WI, Beanery. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Beanery A Very modern. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. D39, cheap eating place small eating place where the food is not especially good) 44 Infs, chiefly.

.

—

.

.

Nth,

N

.

.

.

.

"beanies" or "clays", were placed in the center to be shot at from the edge of the circle. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. EE6b, c) Infs DC8, MD39, NY 104, Beanie.

2 A shooter. 1970 DARE (Qu. EE6a) InfTN55, Beanie.

bean master n See quots. 1944 Adams Western Words, Bean-master A slang name for the cook. cl965 DARE File [Unidentified newspaper clipping], The range cook is often a target for the jibes of the cowhand. A cook is biscuit

—

roller,

.

cookie, bean-master.

.

.

Midi, Beanery.

beans, not to know

/

beano See beaner

2

ibean-rabbit n 1981 High Coll. ceKY (as of cl930), Bean-rabbit: A piece of meat (rabbit) used numerous times to season food (related to me as part of a humorous story). "Sam used the same bean-rabbit all winter, he was so low on meat." .

.

beans n =dibs. 1956 AmSp 31.36, your pie."

beans bean

"I

have beans on your seat." or "I have ducks on

bird See pork-and-beans

shelling See bean hulling

bean-shooter n Also bean-flip(per),

A

1932 AmSp 7.400 plinary farm,

WA [Orphans' Home argot], Beanery

named from

eTN, Beanery.

the principal food there.

Jail. 'Sol's in

.

.

.

The disci-

1940 AmSp 1 5.446

the beanery.'

.

.

.

.

.

bean-flip(per) See bean-shooter

bean-head n Cf£>5HH3

person

.

.

Bean-head.

.

bean hole Seequot

n, also attrib

chiefly

—

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

flipper.

beans, not to know v phr For addit var phrr, see DS JJ15b (Note: the basic phr is widespread and std.) To be very stupid used in var expanded phrr, as: a not to know beans when the bag's open and varr. chiefly Nth,

—

ME, Gt Lakes

1969. 1907 DA' 3.241 eME, Bean-hole ... A hole in the ground in which beans are baked in live coals and over which there is usually a log shed or other rude shelter. A feature of logging camps. 1909 DN 3.408 nME. 1913 DN 4.2 ME, Gt Lakes. 1923 Outing%\ .252/2, A bean hole can be made by digging a hole some larger than the largest kettle and a foot deep. 1966 DARE (Qu. H50) Inf ME2, Baked beans or bean hole beans some make it in a bean-hole, in a pot covered with live coals and buried in [the] ground over night; (Qu. HH14, Ways of teasing a ") Inf MI26, Bean hole. beginner "Go get me a 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Bean hole A hole in the ground in which beans were baked Hardwood coals were raked into it and on top of the bean kettle which had a tight lid; then it was covered with dirt. 1975 Gould Lingo 9, In lumber camps, and particularly on drives, Cook liked a cast-iron pot for his bean-\io\z. Baking beans in a bean-ho\t uses the retained heat principle of the clambake. 1977 Yankee Nov 57 ME, The crew [in a hunting camp] could always count on steak on Friday and beanhole beans on Saturday. .

.

.

.

See quots. 1919 DN 5.61 NM, Bean-head, a dull, stupid person. "John is such a bean-head." 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 433.3, Stupid

snapper Cf beany n

1890 Congressional Record A Mar 1920/1 AR, I have not excused this rudeness or shooting with a bean-shooter. Ibid 5 Sept 9744/2 AR, Judge Benjamin was shot in the forehead with a leaden bullet from a weapon known as a "bean-shooter." 1948 Sat. Eve. Post 29 May 4/3, We boys in the Midwest 50 years ago called it a beanshooter. 1950 WELS (Weapon used by children) 1 Inf, cwVVI, Bean-snapper. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX 6%, The familiar piece of boys' artillery made of a forked stick and rubber strips Bean shooter and bean flip, which are very rare in Texas, appear fairly often in southern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. 1970 Tarpley Blinky 230 neTX, Boy's weapon made of rubber strips on a forked stick [2 infs:] bean-shooter [1 inf:] bean.

2 See quots.

~

slingshot.

.

See Map 1876 Nash Century 21 (Taylor- Whiting Diet. Amer. Proverbs) NEng, I told him he was a moonshiny calf and didn't know beans, when the bag's open. 1905 DN 3.85 nwAR, Know beans when the bag's opened Negatively, to know little, to be stupid. [1907 DN 3.246 eME, Know beans when the bag's untied To be sophisticated. "I guess I know beans when the bag's untied."] 1912 DN 3.581 wIN, He doesn't know beans when the bag's open, does he? 1917 DN 4.395 neOH, Know beans ... To know anything. The full phrase in the '80's was, He don know beans when the bag's untied [in 111., when the bag's full; in Vt., with the bag open]; i.e. "doesn't recognize beans." 1950 ") 1 Inf, WELS (The most basic thing: "He doesn't know

NMidl

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

't

.

ME

bean

hulling n Also bean shelling,

~

thrashing

[hull v]

A

social gathering or bee at which beans are shelled. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bean-hulling ... A community "working" or "bee" once common. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. FF1, A "social" or "sociable") Inf IN32, Bean thrashing; (Qu. FF2, Kinds ofparties) Inf KY23, Bean shellings; MD18, Bean hulling. .

.

beanie n In marble

.

.

play:

A

small or cheap marble. 1955 Progress (Charlottesville VA) 10 Mar 24/1-3 (Hench Coll.). A circle was drawn on the ground and cheaper marbles, sometimes called 1

•beans, not to know

a

+

varr

(Oq. JJ15a, b)

.

2 ,

bean

stringing

bear

/

cwWI, Beans when

DARE (Qu. JJ

1

5a,

.

184

1965

the bag's open. .

[see

"He hasn sense enough

Know

1965-70

d below]. ")

to

't

Inf CA2

1

"He doesn't know beans when the bag's open; (Qu. JJ1 5b, ") 1 3 Infs, scattered Nth, N Midi, Beans with the bags open; 1 Infs, Nth, N Midi, Beans (even) when the (bag is or bags are) open; KY44, Beans with the sack open. [20 of 23 total Infs old] .

.

b not to know beans from (apple) butter, chiefly Missip-Ohio Valleys ") Infs 1965-70 DARE (Qu. JJ15b, "He doesn't know IL 26, 4 IN76, M027, OH40, 61,97, Beans from apple butter; IA22, TN65, Beans from butter. .

1

1

c not to

know beans from

bull's foot

and

varr.

esp Sth,

S Midi

") Infs 1965-70 DARE (Qu. JJ15b, "He doesn't know AR28, KY78, MSI, TX1, Beans from (a) bull's foot; GA12. Beans from bull foot; M025, Beans from bull; FL1 5, Beans from bullfrogs. 1982 .

csWI

(as of 1950),

NEng

has beans up his nose She has beans up her nose.

—

.

Claiborne Feast Made 26 cMS (as of cl930), "Dora, you don't know beans from bullfoot about biscuits," Mother said. [Speaker born in AL]

background]

bean supper n Cf pie supper 1968-69 DARE(Q\i. FF1, A kind ofgroup meeting called a "social" or "sociable') Inf MA73, We have bean suppers at church; IN45, Bean .

.

supper.

beant See be Cla

bean thrashing See bean

hulling

Bean Town n Also Bean Row See quots. 1927 DA' 5.438 [Underworld argot], Bean-town Boston. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. C34, Nicknames for nearby settlements) Inf CT6, Danbury is Bean Town; NJ25, Bean Town raised string beans in a part of the town; (Qu. C35, Nicknames for parts of. town) Infs CT2, OH31, Bean Town: OH38, Bean Row; (Qu. 1125, Where poor people or foreigners live) Inf OH33, Bean Town. .

—

1

1

DARE

") Inf know SD3, Beans from peas when the pods are open;

(Qu. JJ 1 5b,

Beans from peas;

.

.

"He

[OH78, Beans when the pod's open]. f not to know beans from buttons. 1965-68 DARE (Qu. JJ 5b, "He UT3, 6, Beans from buttons. 1

bean

.

know beans from peas.

1966-68

MN6,

.

stringing n chiefly

.

.

doesn't

s Appalachians,

know

esp

")

eKY Cf bean

Infs

hull-

ing, leather britches (beans)

the

.

.

1908 Fox Lonesome Pine 289 KY, There was a "bean-stringing" at the house that day. 1942 ( 97 1 ) Campbell Cloud- Walking 8 seKY, Ever last funeral meeting or bean-stringing or lasses stir-off or other gathering had its crowd of candidates misputting theirselves to be sociable. 1959 Roberts Up Cutshin 30 KY, When the crops come in, we'd have to start gathering 'em and putting 'em up. When our beans come in, we'd have bean stringings. 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 59 eTN, wNC, Beanstringin': a group of women, or of girls with their sweethearts, putting beans on strings to make "leather britches" (also called "shuck beans," Kinds of parties) Infs that is, dried beans). 1969 DARE (Qu. FF2, KY40, 41, 45, Bean stringing. 1981 Broaddus Coll. ceKY. 1

1

.

1

.

beans up one's nose n

.

pod resembles a bean]

1847 Darlington Weeds & Plants 222 (DAE), Bignonia-like Catalpa. Catawba. Bean-tree Cultivated as a shade tree, but indigenous in the Southwest. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 335, Common Ca.

talpa

.

.

.

.

.

Common names

[include]

.

Beantree (N.J., Del., Pa., Va.,

.

1907 Hodge Hdbk. Amer. Indians .2 1 3, Catalpa ... The two species native in the United States are the common catalpa, beantree, Indian bean, or candle-tree (Catalpa catalpa); and the western La.. Nebr.).

1

Shawnee wood

(C. speciosa).

1966-70

DARE (Qu. T9) 9 Infs. scattered, Bean tree.

1968 McPhee Pine Barrens 63 NJ, Standing under the old catalpa trees, with their long-podded seeds hanging down above us, Fred said, "... Aunt Katie Gunner was the last person to live here under these bean trees." 1968 DARE FW Addit ceOK, Bean tree A children's name for catalpa. .

—

beanwater, be on one's v phr

for drying.

.

=catalpa Bl.

.

A social gathering at which beans are strung together to be hung up

bean tree n [Because

catalpa, larger Indian bean, or

doesn't

.

—

.

.

d not to know beans from barley. lacks 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Not to know beans from barley common sense. "He don't know beans from barley." 1965 DARE File csWI (as of 940s), He wouldn't know beans from barley if the bags were ") open. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. JJ 5b, "He doesn't know Infs IL48, MS65, NY228, VVI13, Beans from barley. e not to

ulterior motives. Ibid don't trust her. [Inf has

I

.

,

1

NYC (as of c 1920), He

To

feel lively

DN 3.24

1907

NEng

old-fash

or animated; to be in high

eME, Beanwater

1

spirits.

one's bean-water," to be overflowing with animal

ME, nNH,

on 1914 DN 4.69

... In the expression, "to be right spirits.

Bean-water, up on one's Feeling very lively, strong, right up on my bean-water this mornin'!" 1980 D/f/?£FilecnMA (as of c 1920), As a child I knew the expression "to be up on one's beanwater" which meant to feel frisky or lively. I thought it had something to do with the vile-smelling water in which beans were soaked preparatory to baking for Saturday night supper. frisky.

.

.

.

"Gosh! I'm

beany n Also

sp beaney

A

bean-shooter. 1949 PADS 1.17 CO, Beany ... A small sling-shot. 1950 WELS (Weapon used by children) 1 Inf, swWI, Beany. 1963 Burroughs Head-First 107 CO, From time to time I have mentioned a "beany," a piece of equipment that no boy of my generation in his right mind ever ventured abroad without. Succinctly, a beany consisted of a willow crotch in the shape of a V with a handle on it. 1

phr put beans up one's nose (or something stupid after being warned not 1

in

To do

in one's ear): to.

1936 Sandburg People 82, Why did the children / put beans in their ears / when the one thing we told the children / they must not do / was put beans in their ears? 1966 Dangerous Songs (Phonodisc), My mama said not to put beans in my ears Now why should I want to put beans in Hey my ears You can't hear your teacher with beans in your ears maybe it's fun to put beans in our ears. 1979 DARE File csWI, Nobody would tell a kid to put "Beans up his nose" anymore than you'd tell him to put "Fingers in the Meatgrinder ..." "Beans up his nose" meant another person egging on the "his" to do some dumb thing. 1982 DARE File seMN (as of 1 920s), One cannot help recalling the story of the mother who had to go out and leave her children at home. "Do not put beans up your noses," she cautioned, and left. Since this trick had never occurred to them, they of course tried it at once. Ibid csWI (as of 1950s), I remember the expression "beans up your nose" from when I was a little girl in Madison. The meaning it had for me was that if you tell children not to do something, they will be sure to do it. This came to light because a neighbor girl of ours did, in fact, put beans up her nose. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 in phr have beans up one's nose and varr: To have ulterior motives or dishonest intentions. 1950 WELS (Ifsomebody has dishonest intentions, or is up to no good: ") 1 Inf, csWI, Beans up his nose there's "I think he's got more up his sleeve than his arm. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. JJ19, If somebody has dishonest intentions, or is up to no good, you might say, "I think ") Inf IL 1 06, Beans in his hat; VA 1 5, Something up his he 's got sleeve; beans in his head; WA33, Beans up his nose. 1982 DARE File

—

beany adj [bean the head] 1 Seequot 1914. Mentally defective, whether feeble1914 DA' 4.103 KS, Beany minded or insane. 1950 WELS 1 Inf, seWI, You're beany! You're .

.

.

crazy as a louse!

2 Infatuated: see quot.

1919

DN 5.71 NM Beany,

crazy. "She's

gone beany about him."

bear n A Prone forms. 1

Usu

Sth, Midi, old-fash |bae(r), baea, Pronc-spp baar, b 'ar, bar(r) 1790 D. Boone in 1926 AmSp 1.314 KY, Taking fur and Baar Skines. 1827 (1939) Sherwood Gaz. GA 139 [In list of provincialisms to be |be(a)r, bes|; also, chiefly

ba(r)|

1843 ( 1 9 1 6) Hall New Purchase 438 IN, We wouldn't a cooked ba'r meat down here. Ibid 1 54, Tarrifying the barr. 1859 ( 1 968) Bariiett Americanisms, Bar, forbear. The common pronunciation in certain parts of the Southern and Western States. 1905 4.408 wNC, Bar. Variant Pronounced bar. 1917 3.3 cCT, Bear 5.470 Appalachians, Bear [is pronounced] of bear, n. and v. 1927 avoided], Bar, for bear.

DN

.

.

DA

.

DN

bar.

was

as a noun it 1927 Shewmake Engl. Prone. VA 17, Bear 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 137 sometimes [bxzrbaea]. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

]

bear

185

bear bush

/

nFL, sGA, Hants of b'ar an' dur an' gators. 1942 Hall Smoky Ml. bear. Old timers of a former day Speech 24 eTN, wNC, [ae] occurs in may have said [baa1 ] but I have never heard it. 1946^wSp21.97sIL, B'ar.bear. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bear [bar] rare among the very old

tobacco, foxberry, hog cranberry, Indian tobacco, larb, meal-

people.

wild cranberry

.

.

.

B Gram Used

.

berry, mealy-plum vine, mountain box, mountain cranberry, mountain laurel, rapper dandies, redberry, rockberry, sandberry, universe vine, upland cranberry, uvursy, whortleberry,

form.

1785

as pi: bears.

?chiefly Sth,

Midi

berry

Arbustrum

Marshall .

.

The

.

Uva

Arbutus

12,

The Bear-

ursi.

flowers are produced in small bunches, near the ends of

saw in the 1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 129 cIN, A missionary i.e., three bears. 1905 3.69 edge of our clearing "three barr" nwAR, There are no bear left in Washington County. 1966-68 DARE Tapes FL16, 36. 47, TX24, Bear [used as plural]; AZ4, He had some good dogs that he used for trailin' bear with; GA30, Unless you fool with them young bear; MI2, We had four bear tied up in our yard at one Addit ceTN, Ya seen any bear up in Cade's cove? time. 1967 DARE

1861 Wood Class-Book 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 12, Manzanita. Bearberry. Arctostaphylos manzanita. 1960 Teale Journey into Summer 18, We wandered over the win, mountain grass and the mats of the bearberry. 1961 Douglas My Wilderness 104 neMN, Blueberries and bearberries had found footing in cracks. 1967

C

3 =bear huckleberry 1. ?obs 1860 Curtis Cat. Plants NC 86, Bear Huckleberry. Bearberry ... The flowers are in the Bearberry cup-shaped. 1883 Hale Woods NC 140, Bearberry The berry is purplish or dark red, insipid and dry, ripening in July and August.

.

.

—

DN

FW

Senses.

See quot. 1950 PADS 14. 1 3 SC, Bear ... In the phrase: "The bear got him," he was overcome by the heat, had a sunstroke. 1

2 See quots.

1972 Claerbaut Black Jargon 57, Bear ... A physically repulsive man woman. 1977 Smitherman Talkin 258 [Black], Bear, booger

or

bear,

.

.

ugly female.

the branches, and are succeeded by red berries.

485, Arctostaphilos

[sic]

.

.

.

DARE Wildfl QR Inf C07,

.

.

Bear-berry.

Bearberry— Arctostaphylos

.

.

.

4 Either of two western buckthorns: coffeeberry 2a(l) or

Rhamnus purshiana,

the latter also called bearberry tree. 1884 Sargent Forests ofN. Amer. 41, Rhamnus Purshiana Bearberry. Bear Wood. Shittim Wood. 1893 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 6.139, Rhamnus Californica, wild coffee; bearberry. S. Barbara Co., Cal. 1898 Ibid 1 1. 225, Rhamnus Purshiana bearberry. Pierce Co.. Wash. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 318, R. purshiana Bearberry tree. 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 248, Rhamnus purshiana Other common .

bear v Std senses, var forms.

.

Past usu bore, occas beared; pple usu borne, occas beared. 1927 AmSp 3.2 Ozarks, Principal parts of some common Ozark verbs: Present bear Preterite beared Past Participle beared. 1966 DARE Tape OK24, It [=a road] beared to the right and crossed the creek up above. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. A22, "She had only ten minutes to clean the room, but she [and had it done in no time]. ") Inf IL8, Beared down; (Qu. 0035b, "That land is poor nothing has ever 1

—

.

uva-ursi.

—

.

.

—

.

.

.

there. ") Inf CA77,

.

—

.

Beared.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bearberry, chittam, coffeetree.

.

5 =bead lily (here: Clintonia borealis). 1898 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 1 1.281, Clintonia borealis ington, Me.

.

.

bearberry, Farm-

A possum haw (here: Ilex decidua). 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 280, Ilex decidua Common Names Bearberry (Miss.). 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 815, Deciduous-holly. Bear-berry. Possum-haw. elk-holly. 1960 Vines Trees Welk Holly, Bearberry, and Winterberry. 655, Local names are 6

.

2 In passive constr indicating the fact of birth: usu born; also, chiefly Sth, S Midi (esp among speakers with little formal educ),

borned, occas bornded; pronc-sp barned. 1892 DN 1 .233 KY, Borned: born. Used by illiterate persons. 1902 2.229 sIL. 1903DA2.307seMO. 1904 DN2A11 nwAR. 1906 3.115 sIN. 1908 3.293 eAL, wGA. 1923 5.202 swMO. 1935 (1944) Rawlings Golden Apples 260 FL, How the young uns gits bornded. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 126 FL, Grandma, was Oliver borned good-lookin'? 1965-70 DARE (Qu. A24) Inf M02, Day he's borned; KY44, Time he was borned; (Qq. Zl la, b) Infs KY21, LA28, NC24, Borned out of wedlock; (Qu. Z17) GA33, Bred and borned; (Qu. 112 ) Inf TN26, Borned in a barn. [4 Infs grade school, 3 Infs high school educ] 1965-70 DARE Tapes AR56, CA156, GA8, IN21, M08, VA9, Borned. [All Infs grade school educ] 1966 DARE FW Addit SC, He was barned in May. 1975 Newell IfNothin Don Happen 8 nwFL, Us folks had moved up to the Hammock from the little settlement out from Fort Myers where my daddy was borned.

DN DN

DN

DN

1

'

't

bear n 2 See bar n 3

—

bear a hand v phr [Orig naut; OED 1 769 To assist, "lend a hand"; to hurry, make haste (esp in assisting someone). 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 343, To bear a hand is a similar term borrowed from the sea-phrase, and means, even in the Far West, to be active and not to delay. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bear a hand ... To lend a hand; take hold; give aid or assistance. To work quickly. 1905 DN 3.3 cCT, Bear ... In the expression to 'bear a hand,' to assist. 1939 AmSp \A.11 [Naval Academy slang], Bear a han d. Shake a leg. 1942 ME Univ. Studies 56.41, A sailor must always look alive. When anything was doing, he must be ready to bear a hand. [Foot.

note:] Fig.

Lend

.

assistance.

.

A

plant of the genus

.

weed

2,

W

SW

.

.

A low trailing blackberry (here: Rubus canadensis). 1916 Torreya 16.238, Rubus canadensis L. Bear berry, October berry, North Carolina. 1941 Ibid 41.48, Rubus canadensis Bear berry North Carolina. 7

—

.

.

.

.

.

8 See bearberry honeysuckle. 9

A

Garrya

silk tassel (here:

wrightii).

1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. B81, Wright known by a variety of local names bearberry, chaparral, nine-bush is a shrub from 1 Vi to 10 feet high.

—

—

.

silktassel.

and qui-

.

10 =bunchberry 1. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 97, CfornusJ Canadensis. Bunchberry

.

.

.

Bear-berry.

bearberry honeysuckle n Also bearberry chiefly West A shrub honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata) which produces paired black berries. Also called fly honeysuckle, inkberry, pigeonberry, skunkberry 1931

Bearberry honeyhoneysuckle, and skunkberry, is probably the commonest and best known of the western honeysuckles. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 263, Lonicera involucrata. Bear-berry. 1961 Douglas Wilderness 17 cnCO, Swamp or bearberry honevsuckle is a coarse shrub with vellow flowers. 1967 DARE Wildfl Inf 1972 12, Bearberry (honeysuckle family). Viereck Trees 250, Bearberry Honeysuckle The bitter fruits are said to be poisonous. U.S.

suckle

.

.

Dept.

known

.

Ag.

Pub.

Misc.

as bearberry,

also

101.146,

fly

.

.

.

My

QR

OR

AK

.

.

.

A rctostaphylos.

[OED 1625 —

»]

Also

For other names of the most

uva-ursi, see bear's bilberry, bear's grape, bear's

checkerberry

2,

A

silktassel (here: Garrya fremontii). 1911 Jepson Flora CA 304, G. fremontii High Bear Brush Coast Range ridges and slopes. 1961 Peck Manual OR 582, Bear Brush. A shrub - 3 m. high West of the Cascade divide, to Wash, and Calif. .

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

called kinnikinnick, manzanita

common sp, A.

.

.

.

bear brush n

A

cranberry (here: Vaccinium macrocarpori). 1672 Josselyn New-Englands Rarities 65, Cran Berry, or Bear Berry, because Bears use much to feed upon them, is a small trayling Plant that grows in Salt Marshes. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 42, O. macrocarpus. Large Cranberry Bear-berry. 2

.

.

bearberry tree See bearberry 4

bearberry n 1

.

.

.

names

.

chipmunk's apple, crowberry

2, devil's

bear bush n Also bear's bush

An

inkberry 1 (here: Ilex glabra). 1787 in 1888 Cutler Life 1.201 MA, Brought home Bear's-Bush and two species of Sumach. 1920 TorreyalO.22, Ilex glabra Bear-bush, .

.

-

bear cabbage

/

beardtongue

186

1952 Taylor Plants Colonial Days 51 VA, InkOther names are gallberry, winterberry and bear bush. 1966 DARE (Qu. S 1 1 ) Inf SC 1 0, Bear bush.

Brown's berry

.

Mills, N.J.

.

.

.

,

.

bear cabbage n Also bear's cabbage Cf squaw

.

lettuce

=cat's-breeches.

1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 418, Waterleaf is sometimes called Bear's Cabbage, but this name is far fetched, both as regards bears and cabbages! 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. .

.

.

W98, Ballhead waterleaf is also known as bear-cabbage The are often eaten by both Indians and young, tender shoots of this plant white men. They provide excellent greens. 1967 DARE (Qu. I28b, Greens that are cooked) Inf C045, Bear cabbage a wild plant green leaf with purple flower a strong tasting plant. .

.

.

—

.

.

dangerous, etc. 1942 Berrey-Van

some way

in

.

—

—

bear cat n Something extraordinary

.

.

.

— as

good, powerful,

den

Bark Amer. Slang 29.2, Something 1951 Porter Ragged Roads 93 wOK, To the was sprawled that endless sweep of moving, blinding sand south bars that bear cat, the South Canadian River. 1967 DARE File neOR, A bear cat something that is tops [=of superior quality]. excellent .

.

.

.

bearcat.

.

—

—

AmSp

named from lars) Inf

its

1968

hairiness).

(a larva

DARE (Qu.

A

R27,

of the .

.

tiger

moth, so

Kinds ofcaterpil-

chiefly

West, esp Pa-

Map

See

AN&Q

.

.

DN 1.138 cNY, [bi»d, bae^d], beard.

1891

DN

1903 3.290 Cape Cod shaved off their bairds. 1905 Culbertson Banjo Talks 124 LA [Black], You teck my hy'ar an' my by'ud erway. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 288 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Baid beard, beards. 1931 N. Amer. Rev. 23 .428 NYC (as of 1826- 1900), Why, if you ain't shaven off your baird! I abhor a baird. 1961 KurathMcDavid Prone. Engl. 1 7, [Beard is usu pronounced /bird, bird/ in the Nth and N Midi; occas when stressed, it is /bijad/ in eNEng and other areas that lack post- vocalic /r/; it is usually /bed, bed/in SC and GA; it is

MA (as of

850s),

1

Men

—

B

[of "snail"

is

—

.

.

—

,

NV

.

/bjed/ in

NC, VA. sWV, MD.]

Senses.

A

patch of hairs, on the face. Cf hair n neKY (ADD), Ah, them old beards Bill. They don't become you one bit. You look awful in them. 1937-39 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, "I wanted to shave off my beards." "Dan Mars ez got lots of beards (a big beard)." 1966 DARETape MS75, A false-face with 1

hair, or

1937

(from its shape) known as a "bear-claw." 1946 AmSp 2 1 .87 CA, Bearclaw a sweet bread shaped something like 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H32, its name implies. Fancy rolls and pastries) 60 Infs, chiefly West, Bear claws; IA13, MT5, WA3, Bear paws; CA87, NY94, Bear's claws; (Qu. H28) Inf UT8, Bear claw. 1965 DARE File csWI, Bear claw a type of sweet-roll, paw-shaped, with indentations along one side. Sold by bakeries. 1968 ID Enterprise (Malad City) 1 Feb 8/ Hostess Bear Claws ... 2 for 950. 1971 Bright Word Geog. CA & 177, Sweet roll [84 infs:] bear claw. pastry], with raisin filling,

1

.

.

beard n Pronc-spp baid, baird, by'ud A Forms. Prone varr: see quot 1961.

1

shaped like a bear's paw. 2.55 San Francisco CA, Another variety

large sweet pastry

1942

.

.

3 =squawroot 1. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 455, Squaw Root (Conopholis americana ..)... Often called Bear Corn.

commonly

Bear.

bear claw n Also bear's claw, bear paw cific

.

.

1

The bear caterpillar

10.202,

WI23,

.

2 =Indian poke 1. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 389, Vferatrum] viride Bear-corn. 1930 S\e\ers Amer. Med. Plants 6, Bear corn The large bright-green leaves of this plant make their way through the ground early in spring, followed later in the season by a stout, erect leafy stem, sometimes growing as tall as6 feet. 1971 Ksochmal Appalachia Med. Plants262, Bearcorn ... Its dried roots and rhizomes are a strong cardiac stimulant drug.

1

bear caterpillar n =woolly bear. 1935

1886 Burroughs Signs & Seasons 1 37, Another very abundant plant in woods was the Clintonia borealis. Uncle Nathan said it was called "bear's corn," though he did not know why. 1942 Torreya 42.6.158, Clintonia borealis Bear's corn, Maine.

these

J.

Stuart in Esquire Jan

white beards hanging

A corn tassel.

2

of the ear

way down

there.

[Note: tassel, the male inflorescence at the top

stalk, is also often

used of the "silks" at the top of the

— see LANE Map 262, and cf DJE corn-mouth]

1966

DARE (Qu.

at the top?) Inf

131,

MS73,

When a corn

stalk

is

well grown,

what comes out

Beard.

.

Bear Day n Note: this is no doubt a borrowing from Ger folklore, in which the bear, not the groundhog, was the animal observed.

Groundhog Day. [1932 Smiley Gloss. New Paltz seNY, Nipper tells me that in the back country the Groundhog superstition is applied not to the Woodchuck but to the Black Bear. If or when he comes out, if he sees his shadow winter is nearly over. Nipper does not believe in any of the Feb. 2nd superstitions.] 1953 Ibid, 2 Feb. Bear Day. The Black Bear, not the groundhog, looks for his shadow here.

bearded

adj

Of an animal: see quot. 1958 AmSp 33.268 eWA, Bearded. Having an abcessed sore in the mouth, caused by cheat-grass beards, grain beards, etc. This condition often requires surgery.

bearded tongue See beardtongue beardgrass n [From the thick bunch of awns] A grass of the genus Andropogon. Also called bluejoint, bluestem, broom grass, broom sedge, bunchgrass, sage grass, turkey foot. For other names of var spp see beargrass 3c, big feathergrass, broom, broomrape, feather bluestem, poverty grass, pur-

bear-climb See bear-hug bear-clover n

=mountain misery. 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 92, Mrs. Brandegee writes of it: "Along the line of the railroad in Placer County, it is often called 'bear-clover,' perhaps in accordance with our felicitous custom of giving names, because it bears not the least resemblance to clover, and the bear will have nothing to do with it." 1911 Jepson Flora CA 205, Mountain Misery Also called Bear-clover and Tarweed. 1923 Davidson Moxley Flora S. CA 1 80, Chamaebatia. Mountain Misery. Tar-bush. Bear-clover. 1968 DARE (Qu. L9b, Kinds of plants) Inf CA105, .

.

.

.

.

.

stem,

little

See also big blue-

bluestem

beard-splitter n Pronc-sp baird-splitter 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 4 cPA Mts (as of c 1900), Baird-splitter

—A

libertine.

beardtongue n Also bearded tongue, beardstongue [See quot

.

Bear-clover.

bear corn n Also bear's corn 1 A bead lily (here: Clintonia

ple-fingered grass, wheatgrass, wire grass

1961]

A

Also called foxglove 2b, plant of the genus Penstemon. honeysuckle. For other names of var spp see balmony 2, dead

borealis).

A beardy man

187

men's

thimbles, firecracker, pride of the mountains,

bells, fairy

scarlet bugler

1821 Beard

in

1

900

1

MA Hist. Soc. Coll. 2d ser 9.

53,

1

Pentstemon pubescens,

NH

1891 Jesup Plants Hanover 30, Pentstemon Beard-tongue. 1937 Sandoz Slogum 96 wNE, This horse pas1949 Peattie ture, where tall spikes of blue beardtongue bloomed. Cascades 241, They are called beardtongue in the eastern part of America and in Europe, but here in the Northwest we usually call them penstemon. 1961 Smith MI Wild/lowers 34 1 The name Beard-tongue refers to the 5th, sterile, bearded stamen, which is found in all members of this genus. 1966 DARE Wildfl QR P1.198 Inf WA10, Beardtongue. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. SI) Inf MD39, Bearded tongue; (Qu. S26b) Inf Addit CO, Beardstongue or C07, Beardtongues. 1967 DARE beardtongue Penstemon. .

tongue.

.

,

FW

—

not the cactus, family. Yet it thrives in this desiccated land. 1965 Teale Wandering Through Winter 79 sAZ, For here the beargrass, Nolina, grew in unparalleled profusion. 1967 DARE (Qu. S26e) Inf CA4, Nolina = Beargrass. 1981 Benson-Darrow Trees Deserts 60, Even though the plant is reputed to be poisonous under certain growth conditions, bear grass is used for emergency feeding of livestock when forage is exceedingly scarce.

SW

c =sotol.

& S. TX for 1885 517, Dasylirion Tex(Bear Grass; the Sotol of the Mexicans) Abundant west of the most striking botanical feature of the country. 1897 the Pecos beargrass. Ariz. 1976 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 10.145, Dasylirion Wheeleri Bailey -Bailey Hortus Third 364, Dasylirion Zucc. Sotol, Bear The leaves are used for thatching and baskets; the fiber is used Grass for cordage. 1886 Havard Flora W.

anum

.

.

.

.

they never clipped their hair or beard.)

bear fighter n Cf fight the bear

—

1968 Adams Western Words, Bear fighter In lumbering, the who separates strips from boards in a sawmill.

man

.

.

.

.

Any

.

,

.

2

1888 Gossler Turnpike- Road'28 PA, The most notable sect is that of the Dunkards (they were called "Beardy Men" when I was a boy, because

.

.

.

.

.

beardy man n arch A Dunkard.

bear grass

/

of several plants of the family Liliaceae

as:

NW

a =squaw grass, chiefly 1805 ( 1 808) Gass Jrl. 242 WA, One of them had a hat made of the bark of white cedar and bear-grass, very handsomely wrought and waterproof. 1806 (1965) Lewis-Clark Hist. Lewis-Clark Exped. 2.769 Pacific

NW, It is for the construction of these baskets that the bear-grass

grows only near the snowy is two feet long and about three-eighths of an inch wide, is smooth, strong, and pliant. 1836 Irving Astoria 1.166, Hither also, the tribes from the Rocky Mountains brought down horses, bear grass, quamash, and other commodities of the interior. Ibid 2.284, Some [=Indians] wore a corslet, formed of pieces of hard wood, laced together with bear grass. 1911 Jepson Flora CA 107, Bear Grass The fibers of the leaves were emX. tenax ployed for decorative work in baskets. 1949 Peattie Cascades 248, In days gone by the Indians used its tough leaves in making their baskets, which accounts for its common names of squaw-grass and Indian basket-grass. It is so conspicuous and attractive that it has a number of other popular names, some of which are bear-grass, elk-grass, pine grass, pine lily, and mountain lily. 1950 FWP Guide ID1\, Called variously soap grass, squaw grass, and elk grass, the gorgeous plant, more commonly known as bear grass, is a thorough rebuke to the unimaginativeness of the human mind. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific 696, Xerophyllum Michx. Beargrass. forms an

of considerable

article

traffic. It

region of the high mountains; the blade, which

bear foot n Also bear's foot

[From the shape of the

leaf]

SE

chiefly

A

leafcup (here: Polymnia uvedalia) or its root. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 300, P. Uvedalia Eastern U.S. Bear'sfoot, Yellow Bear's-foot. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 792, Bear Foot Economic uses: The root, called "bear foot," is used in domestic medicine. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 1406. 1969 DARE FW Addit wKY, Bear foot roots and whiskey the roots are soaked in whiskey and resulting solution is used for rheumatism. 1975 Duncan Foote Wild/lowers SE 210, Yellow Leafcup Leaves opposite, palmately lobed or cut, their shape promoting the name "Bears-foot." .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

— .

.

.

.

.

bear-garden n [Orig, in England, a place for baiting bears; fig, a tumultuous scene (OED 1687 —»)] 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words cPA Mts (as of cl 900), Bear-garden— noisy domestic bickering.

bear grass n 1

Any

.

.

.

.

.

.

NW

b

of var somewhat similar plants of the family Agavaceae

.

.

A camas

1 (here:

Camassia quamash).

Quamash, 1830 Rafinesque Med. Flora 255, Quamasia esculenta Bear grass, Wild Hyacinth Kentucky to Oregon. 1911 Century Diet., Bear-grass ... A name given to the camass of Oregon; also, in Texas, to Dasylirion Texanum, the young pulpy stems of which are much eaten by bears; and to species of the genus Yucca, for the same reason. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9, Bear Grass: Camassia .

.

as:

a =yucca. 1750 (1888) Walker Jrl. 12 Apr, On the Banks is some Bear-Grass. 1848 U.S. Patent Office Annual Rept. for 1847: Ag. 162, Some interesting statements have recently been made respecting the bear grass or Florida hemp. 1949 PADS 1 .3 wTX, Bear grass ... A type of yucca. Common. 1960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bear grass Yucca. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. S20) Infs FL7, TN31, Bear grass; (Qu. S26c, Wild/lowers that grow in woods) Inf VA24, Bear grass [FW: =silk grass]; (Qu. S26e) Inf TN24, Bear grass [FW: =yucca]. 1967 DARE Tape AL15, We hung it [=meat to be cured] with bear grass Bear grass has a blade about foot or foot an' a half long, an' you pull those off an' just one blade for each piece of meat an' it'll just hold, no tellin' how much, an' you just tie it in a knot and then you have poles that go acrost your smokehouse you lay these poles up there with these pieces of meat tied with the bear grass, they hang down, then you build your fire with hickory wood underneath it. 1967 DARE FW Addit LA2, Bear grass —local word for yucca. 1967 DARE Wildfl QR (Wills -Irwin) P1.3c Inf TX34, Bear grass. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

b A plant of the genus Nolina. Also called basket grass 2, bunchgrass, devil's shoestring, ribbon grass, sacahuista, thread grass

A

c

NM

name is applied in the southwestern part of the State to a plant somewhat closely resembling the last [Dasylirion wheeleri].

—

1951

PADS

3

DARE Wildfl QR

Any

5.29

TX,

Nolina spp. Bear grass. These are employed to weave mats for household use or for burial purposes. 1961 Douglas My Wilderness 82 AZ, The lower slopes of Baboquivari show the bear grass, the lowbush cat's-claw, and many, many yuccas whose tall stalk is now dry and brittle. This plant, whose flaming plume makes Baboquivari gay in May and whose dry husks make good fires for cowboys, is related to the lily. .

16 Inf NC28, Bear

PI.

of several grasses

grass— Aletris farinosa.

as:

a A burr grass (here: esp Cenchrus pauciflorus). bear-grass, Iowa. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.104, Cenchrus tribuloides 1966-68 DARE (Qu. L9a, grown for hay) Inf AL26, Bear Grass grass; (Qu. S8, Wild grass that spreads by sending out long underground roots) Inf NC4 Bear grass; (Qu. S9, Kinds of grass that are hard to get rid of) Inf GA38, Bear grass; (Qu. S21, Weeds that are a trouble in gardens and fields) Infs GA38, SC7, Bear grass. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

,

.

.

.

.

b A needlegrass (here: Stipa pulchra). 1911 Century Diet. SuppL, Bear-grass ... A bunch-grass, Stipa setigera, ranging from the mountains of California, where it is considered valuable, to Oregon and Texas. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. Gl 18, California needlegrass, a conspicuously awned grass, is sometimes called beargrass. c Either of

.

two beardgrasses: Andropogon barbinodis or A.

saccharoides.

1937U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. G 4, Cane beardgrass differs from silver beardgrass chiefly because its head is shorter, fan-shaped, feather bluerather than elongated Other local names such as stem, and beargrass, are applied indiscriminately to these species. 1

.

1

.

colicroot 2 (here: Aletris farinosa).

1966

.

1854 (1932) Bell Log TX-CA Trail 301 NM, The Bear Grass stem grows to a considerable size here, about four inches through at the base. [Note: this quot may refer instead to bear grass la above.] 1913 Wooton Trees 36, Bear Grass (Nolina microcarpaj. This vernacular

.

esculenta (C. fraseri or C. quamasia).

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

4 =beach heather (here: Hudsonia tomentosa). Canada and 1900 Lyons Plant Names 194, H. tomentosa .

.

.

north-

Bear-grass. 1959 Carleton Index Woolly Hudsonia, Herb. Plants 9, Bear grass: Hudsonia tomentosa.

eastern U.S.

.

.

.

.

—

,

bear huckleberry

bear sign

/

188

New England called it [=Quercus pumila] Bear Oak

bear huckleberry n

A

huckleberry 1 (here: Gaylussacia ursina). 18977/7. Amer. Folkl. 10.49 NEng, Gaylussacia ursina, bear huckleberry. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 396, Bear huckleberry. 1938 1

.

.

Van

Dersal Native

Woody Plants

1

36,

loved

bear over the

A

Bear huckleberry.

2 A huckleberry 2 (here: Vaccinium hirsutum). 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 1 .94 NC, Vaccinium hirsutum

bear-huckle-

.

because the bears

river

n

children's outdoor game.

DARE (Qu. EE33) Inf IN 14, paw See bear claw

1968 .

.

.

bitter little acorns.

its

bear

Bear over the

river.

bear pen n

berry.

bear-hug v, hence bear-hugging vbl n Also bear-climb, ~ lift, ~ walk chiefly S Midi To shinny up a tree. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE36, To climb the trunk of a tree by holding on with your legs while you pull yourself up with your hands) Infs AR5 1 KY84, 85, LA11, NM9, TX37, VA27, Bear-hugging; CA105, NJ53,

Bear-hug; KY44, 80, 89, Bear-climbing; AR47, Bear-climb; IN32, Bearlift; NC53, Bear-walking.

I960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 61, Bear pen: a dead-fall bear

bear plum n A bead lily (here: Clintonia 1894

trap.

borealis).

Amer. Folkl. 7.101, Clintonia borealis Bear-plum, Franconia, N.H. 1935 AmSp 10.201, Many other plants named from the Jrl.

.

bear are to be found, such as

.

.

.

.

bear plum.

bear's ass exclam 1942 Stegner Mormon Country 143 UT, I have never found [outside Mormon area] the characteristic "Bear's ass!" with which a native of Cache Valley expresses disgust. .

bearing tree n [bearing the position of one point with respect to another]

=witness

tree.

bear's bed n

1817 Niles Natl. Reg. 2.98/2, At each corner the courses are taken to two trees, in opposite directions as nearly as may be, and their distance from the post measured. These trees are called "bearing trees," and are blazed on the side next the post. 1878 Harper's Mag. 56.210/2 AR, A "bearing" tree has been blocked to get at a "blaze" made in the spring of '38. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific N W, Bearing tree— A tree marked to identify a survey corner. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes. 1

'

bear-lift See

bear

=squaw .

haircap moss.

1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 9, Bears' bed, Haircap moss, Polytrichum juniperum [sic]. 1935 AmSp 10.201, Many other plants named from the bear are to be found, such as

2

=Christmas

.

.

,

.

.

.

the white succulent leaf base in spring.

[Perh transf from

barm n

1 ;

bearberry 2 (here: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 44, A. Uva Ursi Bear's Bilberry. 1935 AmSp 10.20 Many other plants named from the bear are to be found, such as bear's-bilberry. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 133, Bear's bilberry The lovely red berries are listed in some books as being .

1

.

.

.

.

bear moss n Cf bear's bed A haircap moss (here: Polytrichum juniperinum). 1935 AmSp 10.201, Many other plants named from the

bear are to be

bear's corn See bear corn

A

bearberry 2 (here: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi). 1842 Buckingham E. & W. States 1.161 ME, The bear's grape, which trails on the ground, is effective in dysentery. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 9, Bears' grape, The fruit of Uva Ursi, Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi. 1930 Other common names Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 10, Bearberry. .

.

Bear's grape.

.

.

.

sagachomi, rapper dandies

(fruit).

bear's head n Also boar's head

(Hydnum caput-medusae), the surface of covered with long soft spines. The Bear's 1908 Hard Mushroom Edible 437 Hydnum caput-ursi edible fungus is

,

spp.).

bear oak n [Seequots 1847, 1900] Either of two shrubby oaks, Quercus ilicifolia or Q. pumila. Also called barren oak 2, bitterbush, bitter oak, scrub oak, shrub oak 1810 Michaux/lrZ>re5 1.24 (DAE), Bear' oak (Chened'ours), connu sous nom dans les Etats de New-Jersey et de New- York [=(Bear oak), known under this name in the States of New Jersey and New York]. Bear Oak 1847 Wood Class-Book 495, Q[uercus] ilicifolia Acorns small and abundant, and said to be greedily eaten by bears, deer and swine. 1927 Keeler Our Native Trees 368, The early settlers of ce

.

.

.

cabbage See bear cabbage

which

1857 U.S. Patent Office Annual Rept. for 1856: Ag. 84 nIL, Where meadow mice] are found in one locality, they are commonly considered by farmers as one animal, known under various names, as "Short-tailed Field Rats or Mice," "Bear Mice," "Bull-headed Mice," "Ground Mice," "Bog Mice," &c. 1935 AmSp 10.202, Very few animals are named from the bear. They include the bear mouse (as the field mouse is sometimes called in the Middle West).

.

.

when cooked.

bear's claw See bear claw

An

several species [of

.

.

.

bear moss.

mouse (Microtus

bear's

.

bear mouse n field

.

bear's grape n .

.

.

,

bear's foot See bear foot

1911 Jepson Flora CA 205, Chamaebatia foliolosa Odorous low often covering extensive tracts. Also called Bear-mat, Bearshrub clover and Tarweed. 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 222, The shrub has many names, such as Bear-mat and Kittikit.

A

See bear's weed 2

bear's bush See bear bush

bear mat n [From its low, thick growth] =mountain misery.

.

weed

cf barmy]

1928 Chapman Happy Mt. 1 18 eTN, "Such bearm I never see!" Waits quarreled at them. Ibid 132, Old Homer's voice came nirly from his bed: "Let be, girls, let be! Leave your bearm and lay you down, and a man might maybe help himself to a dose of sleep."

found, such as

Polysti-

acrostichoides.

.

Excitement, agitation.

.

bear's bed.

1975 Hamel-Chiltoskey Cherokee Plants 33 TN, Bear's bed

chum

edible

.

.

A

.

|bearm n

.

fern.

bear's bilberry n

grass.

1923 in 1925 Jepson Manual Plants CA 210, XferophyllumJ Turkey-beard, Bear-lily, and Pine-lily. 1963 tenax Also called Bears reportedly eat Craighead Rocky Mt. Wildflowers 3 1 Bearlily .

A

1

bear's-berry

bear-hug

n [Seequot 1963]

lily

.

the

.

.

.

.

Head Hvdnum.

Edible ... It has a wide distribution through the states. 1967 DARE Addit cOR, Bear's Head— Corral-like cluster of mushrooms. Also called Boar's Head.

FW

bear sign n [sign] 1 Bear droppings or

tracks.

Messenger 5.377'/ 1 GA, To be sure I did see a powerful sight of bear signs. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 1 3 nFL, "When kin we go, Pa?" "Soon as we git the hoein' done. And see bear-sign." 1939 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, "We went out that evenin' lookin' fer bear sign." "And they found no bear signs to turn the bear hounds loose on." 1946 Peattie Pacific Coast 84, You may note "bear sign" from the Gualala River to the Siskiyous and beyond. 1953 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, "We had quite a time to getting our dogs through the bear sign in the orchard." 1839 S.

Lit.

2 Transf: doughnuts. West 1903 (1965) Adams Log Cowboy 280 NM, She asked me to make the bear sign doughnuts, she called them. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 926.5 West, Bear sign, doughnuts. 1944 Adams Western Words, Bear-sign The cowboy's name for doughnuts.

—

—

bear's-paw root

189

among loggers: berry jam. West 1942 Berrey - Van den Bark Amer. Slang 513, Logging terms, bear sign, berry jam. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Bear sign Blackberry jam, particularly if very seedy.

3 Transf;

—

=male

1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 9, Bears' paw root, Male fern root, Aspidium Filix Mas. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 141, DfryopterisJ Filix140, Bear's-paw root Bear's-paw root. 1941 FWP Guide Mas tea is considered good to cure a cold or a fever, although the remark is made that 'it takes a good nerve' to drink it because of its 'dark bitterness.' 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 198, Bear's paw ... has a value as an anthelmintic, and taenicide. .

.

WV

.

.

=Adam's needle (and thread) Wood Class-Book 1861 Thread

.

.

The

.

(here:

Yucca filamentosa).

1900 Lyons Plant Names 401. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 368, The leaves produce long and tough threads along their margins, with which the inrolled sharp tip of the leaf may be hence the common names of "threaded" to form a crude needle bearsthread and evesdarningneedle.

—

tale

exaggerated account, a "tall tale." 1856 Spirit of Times 25 Oct 129/1, Whether the forty-bear-in-a-day was founded on fact, or was merely a bear-story, we are unable to story went on decide. 1871 Atlantic Mth. 28.564/2, A company of hunters in their old eternal way of making bear-stories out of whole cloth. 1939 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, A fellow would come in and tell a little extra story, a little out of line, like he'd had a extra drink or somethin' we'd call that a bear tale. It meant his story was a little exaggerated in places. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Bear story Any kind of a tall story. Once the bear story was an important part of daily life in the woods, but bears, and bear hunters, and bear stories are all much scarcer nowadays.

there

—

weed n

.

.

south shore of Lake Superior, called the "Mucqua" or "Bear Trout." Bear-trout, the great lake-trout. [Lake 1911 Century Diet., Trout Superior.] 1935 AmSp 10.202, Very few animals are named from the bear trout (the lake trout, so known in Lake bear. They include the .

.

.

.

bear-walk See bear-hug

bearweed See

weed

bear's

bearwood n [Perh because

1

the berries are favored by bears]

Cascara sagrada. 1869 Amer. Naturalist

3.407, Oregon Bearwood (Frangula Purshiana). This species of Buckthorn occurs on both slopes of the Coeur d' Alefie [sic] Mountains. 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 68, As we go northward the prevailing type is In Oregon Rfhamnus] purshiana "bear-wood." 1930 Sievers^4mer. Med. Plants 21. it is known as .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

be-ashamed See be-shame' bush

A

yerba santa (here: Eriodictyon californi-

cum). 1887 Century Illustr. Mag. 34.325 NEng, The stem [is] two feet high, very leafy, and coarser than bear-weed. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 149. E. Californicum Bear's-weed. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 152, Bear's weed ... is a plant which is to be found growing on the dry .

hillsides

.

.

of California.

2 also bear's-berry weed:

A

bearberry 2 (here: Arctostaphylos

uva-ursi).

PADS

1951

15.18, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi L.

— Bear's-berry

weed,

bear's weed.

pi

Also sp beaslins, beazlings, beeslings, beezlins, Pronc-spp beastling, beestlings [Alter of

bislings

beslings,

OED clOOO -»]

beestings,

old-fash

milk given by a cow after calving. 1723 New- Engl. Courant (Boston MA) 18-25 Nov

The

first

She does not turn. 1809 (1814) Weems F. Marion 1 30, Unless they are well worked and scoured of their mother milk, or beastling partiality to the English, they are lost. 1896 DN 1.412 sME, Bislings (=beestings): first milk after a cow has calved. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Beestlings Beeslings, Beaslins, Beslings. First milk of a cow with her first calf. Generally poured on her rump to make her gentle and a good milch cow. 1924 DN 1927 AmSp 5.295 csNH, Beezlin's First milk given after calving. 2.348 cwWV, Do not milk the beaslings on the ground or the cow will grow dry. 1929 Ellis Ordinary Woman 97 CO, Sometimes, when the cow is dry, we can hardly wait for her to 'come in'; then there is the three days' wait for the 'beeslings' to get good. 1936 Morehouse Rain on Just 37 NC, Sukey's calf still born; Sukey herself with a corruption in her tit, and her milk still partly beazlings.

know

.

how

.

2/1,

to boil a Skillet of Beaslings without letting

.

.

it

n

hard tick (family Ixodidae).

1968 DARE (Qu. R23a, Insects that fasten themselves to the skin and suck blood) Inf NC80, Bear tick (the big kind). .

.

bear tongue n bead lily (here: Clintonia borealis). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 108, CflintoniaJ

borealis .

.

.

.

.

Bear-tongue.

.

A difficult or undesirable situation. 1835 Bird Hawks .269 PA, Look you, boy, you are in a bear-trap, and the log will soon be on your back. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific N W, Bear Trap ... A tricky situation ... A tangle of logs such that when the bucker makes a cut, one or more logs may roll and mash 1

and

1

.

.

.

.

AmSp

.

15.45 sAppalachians, Ozarks, 'Chaucerian' syllabic plurals sur-

vive in nestes, beastes, postes, ghostes and jiste-es

bear trap n

beastis,

1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 245 Sth, Beastesses (beas's). 1888 Jones Negro Myths 49 GA coast, Buh Rabbit an de tarruh [=other] beastises. 1895 DN .374 eTN, I got a right smart little bit of roughness [=coarse fodder] for the beastis. 1903 DN 2.306 seMO, Beasties ... PI. of beast. Commonly applied to horses and mules. 1908 DN 3.284 eAL, wGA, Nouns. Abnormal plurals: beastes, beasteses. 1911 DN 3.537 eKY, Beastie Horse; especially common in the plural. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 359 wNC, eTN, The ancient syllabic plural is preserved in beasties (horses), nesties, posties (these are not diminutives). 1940 .

1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 11, C. borealis Dog-berry, beartongue, heal-all. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9.

.

beast n A Forms.

.

A

.

.

PI: usu beasts; also, chiefly S Midi, beastes, beasties, double pi beastesfsjes, beastises.

bear tale See bear story tick

beaslings n

.

also bearweed:

A

used one.

Fishes 467, Mr. George Barnston claims that a third species of Lake Trout, different from the Siscowet, on the

is

.

;

bear

man who

.

.

1

the

bear trout n =lake trout. 1887 Goode Amer.

.

An

bear's

Shame on

.

.

.

thread-like fibers.

.

it.

Superior).

Y. Bear's709, filamentosa margin [of the leaf] filamentous, that is, bearing long,

bear story n Also bear

out of

fall

.

bear's thread n [Seequot 1949]

—

given to a saddle developed in the first quarter of the twentieth cenwhich had a small seat and cantle close to the fork, making it a tury

major achievement to

fern.

beast

Cowboys Turtle Assn. and are used an extra deep nobody has an advantage by riding a bear trap saddle. 1977 Watts Diet. Old West 26, The term bear trap saddle was [=saddles] were designed by the old

so

.

bear's-paw root n Also bear 's paw

/

Coll.

B

csKY, Beasts

(joists).

cl960 Wilson

['bistiz].

Senses.

1

him.

2 A type of horse's bit. 1942 Berrey -Van den Bark Amer. Slang 9\ 5. 3 West, Bear trap, a very severe bit. 1944 Adams Western Words, Bear trap ... A severe bit.

3 also 1944

attrib:

Adams

of saddle.

See quot 1977. Western Words, Bear-trap

cl965

DARE File

— The name for a certain

[Unidentified newspaper clipping],

style

They

A

horse. Sth, S Midi, NEng 1684 (1977) Mather Essay Providences NEng, They had a horse near the beast was slow and dull. 1820 Amer. Farmer 1.369 by, but nVA, The frequent custom of husband and wife going a junketing on the same horse or 'beast,' as in those days it was more commonly called. I 1840 ( 847) Longstreet GA Scenes 22, Do you want to swap hosses? believe I've got a beast I'd trade with you. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Beast. A common name for a horse in the Southern and Western States. It is quite common to see in villages the invitation to travellers, "Entertainment for man and beast." 1930 AmSp 5.425 Ozarks, A horse, in the Ozarks, is very often called a beast, a usage 1

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

beast-back

beaten biscuit

/

190

formerly very common in England. 1969-70 DARE (Qu. II 15, When somebody is passing by and you want him or her to stop and talk a while, ")InfsMA58, WV16, Alight and look to your you might say: ".

beast.

2 also cow beast, male ~ stock ~: A male domestic animal used chiefly Sth, S Midi, occas NEng for breeding, esp a bull, euphem Cf brute 1890 DN 1.69 LA, Beast: euphemism for bull. Common among the Bull. Common women-folk on farms. 1909 DN3. 392 nwAR, Beast among the women on farms. 1939 LANE Map 1 90 scattered through.

.

.

NEng, Euphemisms used when a direct reference to the bull is the animal, the beast, the brute. 1949 avoided on ground of delicacy out

.

.

A person who saves in a matters) Inf SC69, Beat; (Qu. V2a,

U36a,

.

mean way

.

.

.

A

or is greedy in money deceiving person, or somebody

that you can't trust) Infs KYI 8, MD19, 43, M08, SC3, Beat; (Qu. V7, A person who sets out to cheat others while pretending to be honest) Infs MD19, 43, NC50, 85, Beat; (Qu. HH20a, An idle, worthless person: ") Inf MS45, Beat. "He's a

beat adj [Abbr for beat out] esp among young, urban, and Black speakers Tired, exhausted.

DN

1905 3.3 cCT, Beat Tired. 'I was quite beat.' 1938 AmSp 13.317 NE [Black], Beat means bedraggled, fagged out. 1957 AmSp 32.277 [Jazz argot], Beat. Tired. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. X47, Other ways of saying, "I'm very tired, at the end of my strength. ") 1 32 Infs, throughout US, Beat. [Of all Infs responding to the question, 12% were .

.

.

.

beast, stock Kurath Word Geog. 62, Expressions for the bull are beast, male beast in the coastal section of the Carolinas. 1950 PADS 14. 1 3 SC, Beast ... An uncastrated domestic animal, as a bull, boar, or Male, usually uncastrated, stallion. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Beast animal. "That old beast chased Pappy across the pasture field." 1960 PADS 34.63 CO, Older Speech beast 'bull. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K22, A bull) Infs AR4, GA3, MS4, SC7, Beast; GA3, NC49, Male beast; (Qu. K23, Words used by women or in mixed company for a bull) Infs GA7, 46, IN8, SC43, TN44, Beast; GA3, NC10, Male beast; WV2, .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

'

.

.

Cow beast. beast-back adv Cf critter-back

[beast Bl]

.

.

Horseback. "I went beast-back to

and fire works a whisking about, I never see the ISIS (\917)StowePoganuc People 1 1 OCT, That Bill is saassy enough to physic a hornbug. I never see the beat of him! 1902 Richards Mrs. Tree 70, "There! you hear her!" murmured Direxia. "Oh, she is the Superior. 'I never saw the beat beat of all!" 1905 DN 3.3 cCT, Beat ofhim.' 1907 ZW3. 209 nwAR. 1911 Porter Harvester 343 IN, Did you ever see his beat to go swimmin'? He's always in splashin'! 1914 DN 1937 Sandoz Slogum 209 4.69 ME, nNH, She never seen the beat on wNE (as of 1900-20), "There ain't your beat in the country when it The comes to cookin'," she said. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Beat equal or better. "I never saw the beat of that horse." .

.

beat of it.

.

.

.

't.

.

2

A

Mid

.

.

unreliable person; one who regularly fails to pay [Abbr for deadbeat] formerly widespread, now esp See Map derog Cf beater 2

shiftless,

his debts.

Atl

1865 Canteen Songster ( 1 868) 26 (DA), Before 'this cruel war' broke out he was what's termed 'a beat.' 1888 Whitman November Boughs 71, Among the crowd were three Virginia beats. 1902 Riis Making of Amer. 1 39 NYC, When the grocer on my corner complained that he was I started in at once being ruined by "beats" who did not pay their bills to make those beats pay up. 1948 Chicago Daily Tribune (IL) 4 Apr comic sec, Well, you can't get money out of a turnip!! You're no A person who turnip— you're a beat! 1965-70 DARE (Qu. U17, doesn't pay his bills) 18 Infs, scattered Sth, S Midi, Beat; (Qu. .

1 1

1

beat a hen a-flying v phr Also beat a hen a-routing =beat the Dutch. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. GG22b, When you come to the end of your ") Inf TN26, patience, you might say, "Well, that certainly Don't that beat a hen a-flyin'; NC37, Beats a hen a-routin'. putter, trifle, loaf; to gad about. 1960 Wentworth-Flexner Slang 25, Beat around a pastime or in search of fun; to loaf or

.

.

.

.

.

— To wander aim-

idle.

1966-69

DARE

(Qu. A 10, Doing little unimportant things)\nfK\2S, Beating around; (Qu. Y29b, About a man who doesn't stay home much: "He's always ") Inf SC10, Beating around; (Qu. KK31, To go about aimlessly looking for distractions: "He doesn't have anything to do, so he's just around. ") Inf SCI 9, Beatin' around. .

1

beat n chiefly NEng, Midi 1 Something that surpasses, 1827 in 1941 Bird Cowled Lover 147 KY, Did you ever see the beat o' that? 1833 in 1834SmithLe«m/acfcZ)0wm>^129ME,Suchasightof fine ladies

1

lessly, as

beastling See beaslings

and

comm types and 2, % young, 6% Black; of those giving this response, 29% were comm types and 2, 32% young, 22% Black.]

To .

beast, bird, or fish See bird, beast, or fish

folks,

.

.

beat around v phr

On

horseback. 1890 DN 1.63 KY, Beastback town."

.

.

beat bobtail v phr [Prob allusion to horse racing, perh to

phen

Foster's

Ste-

Camptown Races] ?Sth

To

surpass (one's) expectation or comprehension; also as adv to beat bobtail to an extreme degree, "to beat the band." 1898 Lloyd Country Life 47 AL, Blev Scroggins was mixin' around among the various delegates to beat bobtail. 1945 Hench Coll., A fellow-teacher and friend, raised in eastern North Carolina, told me of the proverb That beats bobtail meaning that beats the devil. Sometimes the proverb has a longer form: That beats bobtail and everybody knows what bobtail beats. When I asked my informant what bobtail meant, he 1954 Ibid, A native Virginian (raised in said that he did not know. Norfolk) was speaking of something that surprised him a great deal, something that he could not comprehend. Summing up his impression, for him to do that!" he said, "Doesn't it beat bobtail

phr

.

.

—

beat

down

See beat one down biscuit chiefly Sth, S Midi, esp KY, Also called Maryland beaten biscuit

beaten biscuit n Also beat

MD, VA See Map A biscuit made with

dough lightened by beating and folding. 1877 Henderson Practical Cooking 69, Beat the dough well with a rolling-pin for half an hour or more, or until the dough will break when pulled. Little machines come for the purpose of making beaten biscuit, which facilitate the operation. 1881 Georgians 123 (DA), This is regular and this is beat-biscuit, I'm sure. 1912 old-fashioned hoe-cake; Green VA Folk-Speech, Beat-biscuit ... An unrisen biscuit. 1929 .

.

•beaten biscuit + vorr

(Qq. H18, H19)

1

beatenest

191

(1951) Faulkner Sartoris 26 MS, A thin woman in a funereal purple turban, poising a beaten biscuit heaped with mayonnaise. 1931 Sun (Baltimore MD) 1 May 12/7 (Hench Coll.), Maryland biscuits? I object to

They make them just as good in Virginia! cl937 in 1977 Amer. Slave Suppl. 1 1.67 AL, My mammy made de best beaten biscuit and de best pound cake. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H 9, What do you mean by a biscuit *) 28 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, dough beaten with an ax for Beaten biscuit(s); MD19, Beat biscuit Special kinds of bread) Infs AR8, KY94, MD7, 27, hours; (Qu. HI 8, MS54, Beaten biscuit(s). 1968 DARE Tape MD27, Beaten biscuits that description. Beaten biscuits.

1

1

—

.

.

have to be beaten before they are baked.

1952 Brown

.

.

— —

gun pyntin' right into the door beatemest feller with a gun ever you seed. 1845 Judd Margaret 245 ME, The is the worst pair of horns I ever druv, and I have Parson [=a cow] had the business now rising of sixty year, and take it by and large fifty head a season, and she is the beatomest. 1860 Harper's Mag. 22. 1 35/2, A countryman attracted by the white slab exclaimed, "Well, if this ain't the beatenest town I ever saw!" 1885 Twain Huck. Finn 106 MO, 1892 DN 1 .229 KY. 1893 Shands It's the beatenest thing I ever struck. MS Speech 70, Beatenest. This word is used in Mississippi with exactly the same sense as in Kentucky; i.e. not to be beaten, not to be surpassed. 1895 DN 1.370 eTN. 1902 DN 2.229 sIL. 1903 DA' 2.306 seMO, Beatingest or beatinest. 1905 DN 3.69 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.289 eAL, wGA, Beatin(g)est. 1909 DN 3.408 nME. 1912 DN 3.57 wIN. 1915 Z)7V 4. 8 1 swVA. 1916 DN 4.3 19 KS, Beatinest. 1927 AmSp 2.348 WV, Beatenist. 1929 ( 195 ) Faulkner Sartoris 27 MS, Ef you ain't de beatin'es' man! 1941 Faulkner Men Working 24 MS, I declare, he's the beatin'est ever saw. Wilson cwKY, child I cl960 Coll. Beatenest Unusual. "He made the beatenest speech you ever Susap

.

.

stan' there with his

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

1

1

.

.

.

beatenest n One's best; one's utmost

1.519, Beating-stick ...

A

stick

.

.

him then." time v phr Also beat time chiefly Midi To waste time; to busy oneself with unimportant things. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. A9, Wasting time by not working on the job) Infs AR53. NC31. 41. SC46, VA28, 87, Beating time: (Qu. A 10, Doing little unimportant things: somebody asks, "What are you ") Fmjust doing?" And you answer, "Nothing in particular Infs IL1 13, 134, Beating in time; (Qu. All, When somebody lakes too ") Inf VA36, Beating time; (Qu. Y29b, "I wish he'd quit long ") Inf About a man who doesn stay home much: "He's always VA5, Beating in time; (Qu. KK31, To go about aimlessly looking for ")Infs distractions: "He doesn't have anything to do, sohe'sjust IL126, 136, KY47, Beating in time.

beat

in

.

.

.

—

.

.

't

beat

N

v phr widespread, but most freq in Nth,

it

See

Map

To leave in a hurry, to rush away

— freq used

1907 Wright Shepherd 12 Ozarks, 'Taint no wonder 't all, God rested when he made these here hills; he jes naturally had'C quit, fer he done his beatenest an' was plumb gin [=given] out.

beater n 1 A heavy hammer or maul; also a wedge used in

in imper: Clear out!

1906 H. Green Actors' Boarding House 108 (OEDS), I told 'em to beat To depart in haste. "It's dinner time 1914 DA' 4. 103 KS, Beat it and I guess I'll beat it to the house." 1915 DN 4.243 eMA, MT, Beat it Go. "Beat it while going is good." 1916 DA* 4.271 LA, IL, LA, Depart. "What became of all MA, MI, NE. NY, NC, PA, TN, Beat it you people all of a sudden?" "O. we decided to beat it." 1923 DA" 5.20 swMO, Beat it To hurry away. 1927 AmSp 2.348 WV. 1950 WELS (To leave in a hurry) 26 Infs, WI, Beat it; (Expressions used to it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

or animals) 15 Infs, WI, Beat it. 1965-70 DARE Other ways of saying to hurry: "Fm late, Fll have to '0 10 Infs. Nth, Beat it; (Qu.Y 18, To leave in a hurry: " We'd ") 188 Infs, esp Nth, N Midi, West, Beat it: (Qu. better Togo away from a place) 19 Infs, esp Nth, Beat it; (Qu. Y20, To Y19, !") 32 Infs, chiefly Nth. N run fast: "You should have seen him mind his own Midi, Beat it; (Qu. 1122, Expressions to tell somebody to business) 10 Infs, Nth. NW, Beat it; (Qq. NN12a,b) Infs NY250, UT8, Beat it (kid); (Qq. NN22a,b,c,d) 199 total Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, scattered West, Beat it (kitty, you kids). drive

away people

(Qu.

A 19,

.

.

.

splitting

.

.

.

wood.

25.236 [City surveying argot], Beater ... A sledge hammer. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Beater a wooden wedge used to split boards or slats. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Beater A name used for a sledge or a maul.

1950

AmSp

Midi, West

Scram!

.

effort.

used to beat

beatin's vbl n pi [beat to get the better of, win, surpass] 1896 DN 1.412 NY, Beatin's the advantage. "I got the beatin's of

.

heard."

Folkl.

clothes while washing them.

.

beatenest adj Also sp beatenist, beatin(g)est; formerly beatemest, beatomest [beating ppl of beat to surpass + -est; for early forms, prob beat + 'em them + -est: cf Engl dial beatem victor] chiefly Sth, S Midi Most remarkable or unusual. sees old 1831 Daily Eve. Transcript (Boston MA) 9 Aug 2/3, He

NC

beat out

/

—

—

2. chiefly Sth esp among Black speakers 1965-70 DARE (Qu. U17, A person who doesn't pay his bills) Infs LA8, 20, NC85, VA70, Beater; (Qu. V7, A person who sets out to cheat others while pretending to be honest) Infs FL51, LA8, MSI 5, SC26,

2 =beat n

.

Beater; (Qu.

HH19,

.

A

.

.

tramp) Inf FL52, Beater.

3 See quot. 1969-70 DARE (Qu. X13b, TX106, Beaters.

.

.

[6

of 8 Infs Black].

False teeth) Inf M019,

Gum

beaters;

•beat

beatermost =beatenest

adj [Var of beatenest adj]

obs

varr

+

b,

(Qq. A19, Y18, Y19. Y20. II22,

NN22a,

b, c. d)

adj.

1843 Stephens High Life N. Y. 2.28 (DAE), Aint I the beatermost feller 1845 Kirkland Western Clearings 98, The Maineman will declare [his cow] to be the "beatermost critter under the canopy." for losing things? .

it

NN12a,

beat one

.

beat her on the back v phr In railroading: see quot 1945. 1929 Bookman 69.525,

1 give the old boiler the prod and take up the begin beatin' her on the back. We're goin' so fast 1943 AmSp I can look back and see the door in the hack [=caboose]. 18.162, Beat her on the back. To maintain a high rate of speed, using the full power of the engine. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 332, Beat 'er on the back Make fast time; work an engine at full stroke.

slack in the train, then

I

—

To

down

down

chiefly east of Missip R, 92 get a lower price (on something) by haggling aggressively.

but esp

v phr Also beat

NEast See

Map

on

p.

1

tosecure 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark /imer. Slang 545.6, Beat down a lower price by haggling. 1950 WELS (If you were buying something and you argued with the seller till you made him lower the price, you ") 3 Infs, WI, Beat him down; [1 Inf, csWI, Beat might say, "I down his price]. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. U12) 60 Infs. chiefly east of Missip R, but esp NEast, Beat him down: [AL50. ME22, NH10. Beat him; CT6, 7, NY181, TX86. VT13. Beat down the price]. .

beat out adj phr Tired, exhausted, scattered, but esp NEng ordered him to 1746 in 1895 Sheldon Hist. Deerfield 1.548 MA, I put on faster. He told me his horse was about beat out. 1860 Holmes haf to give up. if Professor 239 NEng, The landlady insisted that she'd 1

beatinest, beatingest See beatenest adj

.

.

beating stick n =battling stick.

.

.

.

—

1

beat the cars

beaucoup

/

192

beat the throttle with a stick v phr Cf beat her on the back See quot 1958. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Beat the throttle with a An attempt to get more steam out of an engine. 1962 AmSp stick

—

37.131

NW [Logging railroad argot].

beat time See beat

in

time

be-attled See be-addled

beat up v phr 1967

DARE (Qu. )

Inf

B12,

When

NY34, Beating

beau v [beau (OED 1720 fine, beautiful]

To •beat one

down

(Qu. U12)

chiefly

the

wind begins

to increase,

you say

it's

up.

—

-)

sweetheart, suitor, lover

NEng

< Fr beau

old-fash

escort; to act as suitor to; to date.

1859 ( 1968) BanlelX Americanisms, ToBeau. To act in the capacity of a gallant or beau. '"'Well, I got to beauin Miss Patience about a spell; and kept my eye on Nance, to see how the cat was jumpin'.'"' Yankee Hill's Stories. 1891 Maitland Amer. Slang Diet. 29, Beau "To beau" is to court or gallant a girl. 1904 Day Kin o' Ktaadn 94 ME, You were running your legs off beauing girls. Ibid 91, And vowed to beau no maidens home; you see, I was a youngster then. 1941 LANE Map 402 scattered throughout NEng, The map shows the expressions recorded in the context May I escort you home? us addressed by a young man to a girl after a dance or on some similar occasion: escort you home, see~, take~, brings, beau ~. IbidMap 405, The map shows the expressions keeping beauing her around, company with her, going (out, around) with her, ~ out. 1942 Hale Prodigal Women 400 (as of 1 905 - 40), Good old Sam, who was now beauing Jane. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. AA1, When a man goes to see a girl often and seems to want to marry her, he 's "John is going to her) Inf PA234, Beauin' her around; (Qu. AA2, Mary to the dance.') Infs CA36, MA5, 48, 69, Beau; CT1, '

she didn't want to be clean beat out in less 'n a week. 1 899 ( 1 960) Norris Francisco CA, I'm beat out. I've walked the city 3.3 cCT. over ten miles, I guess an' I'm going to bed. 1905 and laid down 1907 Lincoln Cape Cod 286 MA, I went off by myself 3.408 3.209 nwAR, cCT. 1909 to rest, being beat out. 1907 4.69 ME, nNH. 1935 Safford Bennington Mob 105 nME. 1914 VT, "Been travelin' far?" "So-so." "Ye don't look much beat out." "No." 1935 Davis Honey 15 OR, He'll be all beat out when he gets

McTeague 169 San

—

—

DN

.

.

DN

DN

DN

LANE Map

map shows the fagged ~ beat ~. 1950 WELS (Very tired) 2 Infs, WI, Beat out. cl 960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965 - 70 DARE Ways ofsaying, "I'm very tired, at the end ofmy strength.') (Qu. X47, Infs ME22, MA5, NY 197, SC40, VA69, Beat out; (Qu. Y21, To move about slowly and without energy) Inf CA32, Beat out. 1971 Wood Least Vocab. Change 40 Sth, Expressions for the state of exhaustion and widely distributed are beat out (not reported in Florida), done out used up. here.

1941

481 throughoutNEng, The

adjectival phrases tuckered out,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

beat the cars v phr

To

be the

last straw; also

used adverbially in to beat the cars: to .

.

.

To

"He is (Qu. B26, When ") Inf MN38, To

the skies, highly.

boosting that country to beat the cars." 1968 DARE it's raining very heavily, you say, "It's raining beat the cars; (Qu. GG22b, When you come to the end of your patience, ") Inf MD33, Beats the you might say, "Well, that certainly cars.

surprising.

"That does beat

the cats."

a male escort, sweetheart] 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Beau ... A piece of thorn or briar which becomes attached to a woman's dress and drags along after her.

beau-catcher

n, also attrib

See quots.

DN

Fluffed-out hair on a girl's 1923 5.239 swWI, Beau-catcher temples. (Obs.) 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 1 2 1 .48, Curls. Spec, beau catcher, a ringlet on the forehead or cheek, a lovelock. 1955 Hand Coll. neOH, Girls used to soap the hair to make beau catchers. These was sometimes one by each ear. Some all along the edge .

was

.

.

.

only laid in a flat curl tight to the head. Beau-catcher: a spit curl, used as a beauty spot. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Beau-catcher curl ... A "fetching" curl on the forehead. "She had a beau-catcher curl that sure attracted the boys." 1978 DARE File cnMA, Beau catcher— I knew this word as a child, and in the 1920's I think. Something like spit curls. 1

956

hair. It

like bangs,

Mc Atee Some Dialect NC 4,

.

.

nOH (as of 1920s). adj, n,

adv Freq beaucoups Pronc-spp bogoobs, boo[Fr beaucoup much, a great deal] chiefly

coo(s), bookoo(s)

See Map Cf boocoodles Many, much; an abundance, a

Sth

beat the Dutch v phr To be surprising or astonishing; to be exasperating. 1 775 in 1 8 5 7 New Engl. Hist. & Geneal. Register 6.191, Our cargoes of meat, drink and cloaths beat the Dutch. 1859 ( 1 968) Banlett Americanisms 1 34, It beats the Dutch is an expression often applied, in New York and New England, to any thing astonishing. 1902 HarbenAbner Daniel 279 GA, "Well, that beats the Dutch!" laughed Abner. 1907 3.2 1 nwAR, cCT, Dutch, beat the To be astonishing. 1939 AmSp 1 4.267 sIN, If it is startling news, it 'beats the Jews' or 'beats the Dutch.'

DN

.

1965-70

Beauing. [All Infs old]

beaucoup Be

.

beau n [Transf from beau

Ibid

beat the cats v phr 1909 DN 3.392 nwAR, Beat the cats

.

.

of one's the cars, to

.

MA

.

an extreme degree. 1922 DN 5.156 AR, Beat

patience,

.

.

.

2 Mentally or nervously exhausted; at one's wits' end. 1943 Peattie Great Smokies 128 eTN, The North Carolina woman "got so plumb beat out with the no-account ways of her fam-il-ee, that she just tuk to the bed and stayed thar, year in and year out." 1950 ( 1 965) Richter Town 200 OH, Sayward was beat out about Chancey. .

.

DARE

(Qu.

you might

.

.

GG22b, When you come

say, "Well, that certainly

to the

end of your

")

Infs

GA15,

MA58, MI 17, MN36, NY69, OH56, WI29, Beats the Dutch. [6 of 7 Infs

196SDAREFW AdditMN32, Don't it beat the Dutch— a parallel expression to "don't that beat all." cl970 Halpert Coll. wKY, Beat. Said about something unusual. "If that don't beat the Dutch!" old]

beat the hound out of v phr esp

SC

To

thrash or beat soundly. 1 966 - 67 DARE (Qu. Y 1 5 To beat somebody thoroughly: 'John really ,

'

SCI 9, 29, 34, 42, 46, Beat the hound out of. 1967 DARE FW Addit ceTN, Heard in conversation: "I beat the hound out of him," meaning "I gave him a bad beating." that fellow.

')

Infs

lot; in

abundance, galore.

1929 AmSp 4.357, If you wish to boast of having a great deal of money, btingfilthy or lousy withmoney. Beaucoupjackisa you may speak of 1930 AmSp 5.382 [Armed forces in Europe], survival of the war. .

.

A beau

193

Bookoo (beaucoup). Abundance. 1958 AmSp 33.225 [Jazz musicians' argot], A considerable amount of anything is bogoobs (e.g., 'It's a mickey band, but there's bogoobs bread'), quite obviously from beaucoup. Plenty of money) \nfVT\6, Money beau1965-70 DARE (Qu. U37, A great deal of money: "He's got [of coup; (Qu. U38a, money].") Infs AL27, DC11, LA3, NC68, PA199, 228, TX72, 89, Beaucoup; FL8, GA1, 9, VA42, Beaucoups; GA9, 89, SC43. Boocoos; forexample, (Qu. LL8a, A large amount or number: more than enough of time. ") Infs AR52, LA35, VA34, Beauof time: "He's got coup (time); 1 Infs, chiefly Sth, Boocoos; TX72, Boocoo; (Qu. LL9a, As .

.

.

.

—

much as you need or more

—for example, ofapples: "We'vegot

LA3,

,

1

32,

—

.

.

.

regularly.

dollar n Also sp bo dollar, Boer ~, bow ~ [Prob through assoc with beau a dandy; Boer dollar appears to be folk-etym] chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map and Map Section espfreq among

beau

Black speakers

TN

Folk Lore Soc. Bulletin 10.9, A reader inquired about the The expression is widely used by origin of the term "bo-dollar" negroes in the Mid-South, particularly at lumber camps along the were sent in One sugSeveral explanations Mississippi River Another gested that "bo-dollar" is a corruption of "boat-dollar" An"hobo dollar" reader said the term was a corruption of other suggested that "bo-dollar" was a corruption of the expression because the negroes "boar dollar," so-called after the male hog considered the boar to be an animal that always achieved what it wanted. 1950 PADS 14. 1 5 SC, Boer dollar ... A silver dollar, carried as a lucky piece. Said to have originated among British soldiers during Silver dollar. Used by thetfoerWar. 1953 PADS 19.9 NC, Bodollar Negroes of Pilot Mountain, who customarily go to a local bank to have 1965-70 DARE (Qu. paper dollars exchanged for silver ones. U27, A silver dollar) 34 Infs, chiefly Sth, scattered S Midi, Beau dollar. [27 Infs Black] 1972 Atlanta Letters nGA, Beau dollar. Bow Silver doldollar— silver dollar. 1973 Patrick Coll. Sth, Bo dollar Silver dollar. lar. 1973 DARE File cAL, Bo dollar .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

beaver root

1967-69 DARE (Qu. W35, A piece of jewelry that a woman wears fastened at the neck of her dress) Infs CT23, KY44, TN23. Beauty pin; MA6, Beauty bar. adj [beauty + -some] 1908 Wasson Home from the Sea 37 (AmSp 37.251), Ef it didn't sound beautysome to hear them old chanties acrosst the river.

beautysome

ME

beaver n 1 A man's

silk hat.

Women

MA, Two

of the young men were 1885 Twain Huck. Finn 204 MO, He'd take off his new white beaver and make a bow. 1889 Century Diet. 1 .496/ 1 The modern stiff silk hat was commonly called a beaver until recently. 1903 DN 2.295 Cape Cod MA, Beaver Silk hat. 1905 DA 3.3 cCT. 1907ZXV3.181 seNH. 1909ZXV3.408cnME.

1870 Alcott

Little

2.144

,

.

.

.

2 Money. [In ref to the use of pelts as a medium of exchange] arch 1848 (1855) Ruxton Life Far West 64, With a pack of cards in his hand, and a handful of dollars in his hat [he] cries out "Ho, boys, hyar's a deck, and hyar's the beaver (rattling the coin)." 1949 Guthrie WayWest 35 (as of 1 847), He would saw open the big log where he had cached his beaver, banks being what they were. 1968 Adams Western Words, Beaver A fur trapper's name not only for the animal he trapped but also for money.

—

.

.

—

A silver dollar. 1944

/

settling their beavers before the hall mirror.

Beaucoup; LAI 1, Boocoo; GA84, 89. ") Infs LA35, 37, TX8 TX33, VT16, Boocoos. 1967 DARE FW Addit cLA, Boocoo 1970 Major Afro-Amer. Slang, ['bu,ku] "She's got money boocoo." Boo koos: a large quantity of anything. 1980 DARE File Madison WI, Heard in conversation with a native of Madison: "It's obvious he has I use it lots of boocoo money." 1982 Ibid neLA, Boo coo's of apples.

dollar

.

.

.

.

.

—

beaver v Also beaver down Cf beaver n 3

Among

loggers: see quot 1958. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 512.14, Logging Beaver down, to hack a tree down. 1 958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Beaver ... To chop or saw a rough uneven cut, as would be done by a green hand in the woods. .

.

.

.

.

.

Among loggers: see quots. Cf beaver v 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Beaver ... A clumsy axman. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Beaver poor chopper. Same as wood pecker.

3

.

.

.

beaver duck n Also beaver =ruddy duck. 1955 AmSp 30.178, Beaver, an old-time market designation of the ruddy duck in Chicago, and the folk name beaver duck (Wis.) were given because of the resemblance to beaver fur of the thick down remaining on the bird's body after the ordinary feathers are plucked.

beaver

lily

n

=spatterdock. 1892 Jrl. Amer.

Folkl. 5.91,

Nuphar advena

.

.

.

Beaver-lily. M[ain]e.

1911 Century Diet. Suppl, Lily Beaver-lily, the yellow pond-lily, Nymphaea advena. Also called beaver-root. 1 959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9, Beaver lily: Nymphozanthus advena (Nuphar). .

.

.

meadow n chiefly Nth, esp NEng A grassy open area formed when an abandoned beaver dam

beaver

no

longer blocks off the stream. 1644 in 1857 New Haven (Colony) Records 1.126, A proposition] thatt they may have the Bever meadowes granted to them. 1809 Kendall Travels 3.176 NH, The dams being in the end abandoned by the beaver, and broken through by the water, large tracts of meadowland are formed, which, from their origin, are described as beavermeadows. 1 968 DARE FW Addit ceN Y, Beaver meadow a meadow that originated when beavers dammed a creek and killed the timber with water and other activities; when the water went down after the dam went out, it left rich land good for hay. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo .

.

—

beautyberry n chiefly Sth A plant of the genus Callicarpa, esp French mulberry.

Comm.

Nomenclature Std. Plant Names White Beautyberry (C. americana alba). 1933 61/1, Callicarpa Small Manual SE Flora 1143, Callicarpa ... Shrubs or trees Beauty-berries. 1941 Walker Lookout 60 TN, It is doubtful if there is any shrub more beautiful than beauty-berry, which is listed by botanists under the very ill-fitting name of French mulberry. It is not a mulberry and is American and not French. 1952 Taylor Plants Colonial Days 41 VA, French mulberry Ranging from Virginia to Texas, [it] is neither French nor a mulberry Other common names include beautyberry. 1972 Brown Wildflowers LA 155, American Beauty Berry ... A large shrub Widely distributed, more abundant 1923 Amer. Joint .

.

.

.

Horticult.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Sievers Amer.

names lata

.

.

.

but not confined to cutover pine-oak-hickory woods along streams.

beauty pin n Also beauty bar brooch.

.

.

.

Root a deadly poison.

Med. Plants 46, Poison Hemlock

Beaver poison. Beaver-poison. .

Cow-

.

.

1970 Correll Plants

TX

.

1

.

.

Other

1930

common

145, Cicuta

macu-

beaver root n =spatterdock.

ME

1832 Williamson Hist. 1.126, Of the Lily tribe, we have several Such as the yellow water-lily, or dog-lily, or beaver-root. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 9, Beaver root, Yellow pond lily. Nuphar advena. 191 1 [see beaver lily]. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9. species,

A

157, Cficuta] maculata. Spotted

bane, Musquash-Root, Beaver-Poison

.

.

in

beaver poison n =poison hemlock 1. 1857 Gray Manual of Botany

.

.

.

NEng, Gt Lakes.

.

.

1

beavertail grass

beckon

/

194

beavertail grass n [Prob from the shape and hairiness of the

A

mariposa

bit

.

.

lily (here:

Calochortus coeruleus).

Beavertail 1925 Jepson Manual Plants CA 238, C. caeruleus Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers The 1949 320, beavertailgrass produces lovely umbels of 2 to 10 small flowers. 1959 Munz-Keck CA Flora 1347. .

.

.

Grass.

.

.

way caze Buh Wolf bague urn so bad. 1899 Chesnutt Conjure 36 ceNC [Black], "How do you know it brings good luck?" I

gie

Woman

CA

petals]

1

asked. '"Ca'se I ain' had no bad luck sence I had it, suh." 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Cos Because; by reason of. 1901 DN2. 8 KY [Black], Because— 'case. 1906 DN3A 16 sIN, Cause, pronounced [kez]. Because. "I won't go case it's cold." 1908 DN 3.290 eAL, wGA, (Be)kase /kes, keis/ Because. Sometimes kasin. 1909 DN 3.392 nwAR, Becaze Because. Ibid 393, Caze. 1916 Howells Leatherwood God 216 sOH, They had n't brung much money; even Mr. Hingston had n't, becuz they expected the Good Old Man to work miracles. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 289 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Bekase because. 1926 Vollmer Sun- Up 34 wNC, This here .

.

beaver tree n [Seequot 1901] Usu =sweet bay 2.

Cfcastorwood

1801 in 1966 Brown Beverages 91, Beaver tree seldom grows further north than Pennsylvania and the Jerseys its red berries are steeped in rum or brandy, (to) cure coughs, consumptions, and other disorders. 1822 Eaton Botany 347, Magnolia glauca beaver tree. 1828 RafinesBeaver Tree. 1901 que Med. Flora 31, Magnolia macrophylla Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 167, M. Virginiana ... In early days the people of Pennsylvania observed that beavers ate greedily of the tree's fleshy roots, to which the common name of beaver tree is in allusion. Beaver-tree. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 536, Magnolia virginiana Beaver-tree. 1960 Vines Trees SW286, Magnolia virginiana .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

beaverwood n Cf beaver 1

.

.

tree

=magnolia. .

.

.

2

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

hackberry (here: Celtis occidentalis).

1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.98, Celtis occidentalis beaver-wood, N.Y. Beaverwood and 1960 Vines Trees SW206, Vernacular names are Oneberry. 1970 Correll Plants TX 494, Beaver-wood. .

.

.

.

{OED at

bezoar

.

.

beazlestone n [From an arch prone of bezoar stone, stone

beazer

e.g.

2)]

A hard object found in the entrails of an animal, used as a charm or amulet.

.

country

is

NYC

You thinks

I

Cf madstone

1981 Harper- Presley Okefinokee 97 sGA (as of a 1952), Uncle Ben [a conjure doctor] had a beazlestone, just a little rock he had in his pocket. Lay it on you and make it sweat. Ibid 99, Local tradition has it that this Allen special deer [a white one] carries a "beazlestone" in its throat Chesser spoke of seeing them. He said they "grow in the deer's runnet, right where his swaller goes into his maw." Other residents of Billys Island have maintained that many deer have "beazlestones" in or near the heart. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ourn, 'cose

Harlem 33

.

1

.

.

.

God

let

us be born here.

McKay Home to

down. Ibid 66, only hangs out with low-down trash becassin Ise in a place like this, eh? 1934 Carmer Stars Fell on AL 270 [Black], Can't nothin' hurt me 'caze I'se a chile o' God. 1943 LANE Map 729 NEng, Because [Usu [bikDz], freq [bikoz]; also [bi-, ba-], [-kAz], infreq [-kaz]; and aphet forms [kAz, kaz, koz]]. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Because [bi'kez]. Old, rare Rarely [a'koz] or [koz]. 1961 Kurath-McDavid Prone. Engl. 162, The vowels /o~d/ are fairly generally used in because throughout the Eastern States. However, one other pronunciation, the /a/ of sun, is rather widely current Because with the vowel /e/ of eight occurs in the folk speech of the South and South Midland; it is sharply recessive. Scattered instances of the /a/ of lot appear in various places, but especially in the New England settlements. 1976 Allen 3.259, As in the East, a back rounded vowel /o - d/ occurs in the stressed syllable of because throughout the U[pper] M[idwest]. A corresponding unround vowel /a - a/ is less usual, with occurrences in western Iowa and Nebraska not quite consistent with its heavier frequency in New England and derivative western settlement areas. Unlike other words in this class, because has also a pronunciation with /a/ that lacks regional or social .

.

.

.

.

LAUM

differentiation.

because adv Why. 1970 Thompson

Now give me

me

cwGA, You done give one reason because!

Coll.

at least

six

why

reasons

not.

becaze See because conj bec-croche n Also sp becroche

[Seequot 1931]

esp

LA Cf

black bec-croche

.

=white

ibis.

.

beazlings See beaslings

868 McCall Letters Frontiers 1 78 FL, I saw a large flock of the white ibis or, as it is called here, Becroche, settle down at the water's edge near by. 1917 4.422 LA, Beccroche. The white ibis (Guara alba). 1931 Read LA French 7, The bec-croche, "crooked bill," ... for which the technical name is "white ibis" inhabits the swampy regions of lower Louisiana. 1962 Imhof AL Birds 106, White Ibis Other Names: bec-croche (Hookbill). 1968 DARE (Qu. Q8) Inf LA31, Water birds) Inf LA26, Bec-croche Bec-croche [,bek'rouc];(Qu.Q 10, this has a curved bill. The Anglicized pronunciation is [,bek:'ros]

1828

in

1

DN

becaise See because conj

.

bec-a-lance n Also bee a lancette bill]

1928

[Black], Git ofFn her. 'Causen she's

.

includes 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 32, The genus Magnolia They are promiscuously called Laurels, about ten American species Beaver-wood, 1941 Torreya 41.47, Magnolia virginiana &c. Beaver-wood.

.

.

[Fr bee a lancette lancet-

.

,

.

LA

.

=anhinga.

.

[1768 in 1931 Read LA French 158, II y a un autre oiseau nomme bee a lancette, qui a effectivement le bee fait de meme [=There is another bird called the bee a lancette which actually has a beak of the same sort]]. 1916 4.422 LA, Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) Bec-a-laucet [sic]. Bec-a-lance. 1917 Wilson Bulletin 29.2.1 4 LA, Anhinga anhinga. 1931 Read LA French 7, Bee a lancette American Snakebird.

DN

.

.

—

r

.

.

.

.

.

—

p

[

be,kros].

becket n [Naut;

OED

1769

—

]

ME

chiefly

See quots. 1942 ME Univ. Studies 56.28, Various forms of rope handles or

.

A general term for handle, of rope; jestingly, a trouser pocket. 1945 Colcord Sea Language 32 ME, Cape Cod, Long Island. 1975 Gould Lingo 10, Beckets— Rope handles on sea chests Somehow the word came to mean a man's pockets. "He was amblin' along with his hands in his beckets." fastenings were called beckets. [Footnote:]

because conj Usu |,bi-, ,b3-; -'koz, -'kAz|; occas |-kaz|; also, Pronc-spp becaise, becase, in Sth, S Midi, |bi'ke(i)z, -'ke(i)s| becaze, becuz, bekase, and aphet forms case, caze, cos, cose, coz, kase Also becassin, causen, kasin (see -en suff3 ) acause

See also

—

be kickin' the people's own shins. 1871 Eggleston kase Hoosier Schoolmaster 39 IN, I 'low they'll appint the Squire turned up her he's the peartest ole man in this deestrick. Ibid 40, She nose one night at a apple-peelin' bekase I tuck a sheet off the bed. 1883 (1971) Harris Nights with Remus 4 GA [Black], Dey [=geese] don't cross der legs kase dey sets down right flat-footed. 1884 Murfree TNMts. 'kase his old shoe 253, 1 knowed it war the track o' Jeremiah Stubbs, jes' fit the track. 1888 Jones Negro Myths 124 GA coast, Buh Rabhe'll

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ME

.

.

.

beckon n

Std senses, var forms. 1815 Humphreys Yankey in England 103 NEng, Becaise, because. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69 [In a list of provincialisms to be avoided], Becase, for because. 1843 (19 16) Hall New Purchasel9\N,T\\m\o\he 1848 Lowell left, but not quite 'cos the path goes to the rite like. Biglow 52 "Upcountry" MA, But he mus' n't be hard on partickler sins, /

Coz then

esp.

.

.

A children's outdoor hiding game;

see quots.

1945 Boyd Hdbk. Games 69, Beckon, or Sheep player

.

.

blinds while

the other players hide

all

.

.

.

in

My

Pen

The hunter

.

.

.

.

.

One must

When discovered, the the name of any player whom he sees hider must come into goal. This hider then calls "Give me a beckon." beckon to him, which gives him the One of the other hiders may call

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

away and hide again. 1965-68 DARE (Qu. EE 2, Games in which one captain hides his team and the other team tries to find it) Inf WA25, Beckon [bekin]. One side goes and hides in different places and right to slip

1

other side hunts them. When hunters call the hiding time, [a hider] has to wave at hunter; (Qu. EE13a, Games in which every player hides except one, and that one must try to find the others), Inf IN39, Beckon; (Qu. EE16, Hiding games that start with a special, elaborate method of go out and hide; sending the players out to hide) Inf KS15, Beckon

—

beckon back

195

"it" finds you he puts you in a circle. Then "it" goes out to find others and the person in the circle can leave the circle if another player

when

beckons to him.

Of the

alter

of backen

+ back]

1

wind: to change direction.

1931-33

E4NE

from northeast

in

which tobacco seed-

prior to transplanting.

1965-70 DARE (Qu. L22, About a crop he intends to plant ... a ") Inf KY49, Sow the farmer might say, "This year, I'm going to beds; KY58, Sow a bed; NC24, Plant tobacco beds; SCI, Sow tobacco 1966 PADS 45.7 cnKY, Bed. =tobacco bed "I use seed bed. chemicals for sterilizing my beds." 1966-70ZX4/?£'TapesIN45, KY9. NC7, VA38, 40. Bed [with ref to tobacco growing]. 1967 Key Tobacco Vocab. GA, Bed leaves: lowest leaves on a tobacco plant. .

.

Worksheets

MA, The wind

sometimes beckons back

to southwest.

Becky See Betsy

grown

.

beckon back v phr [Prob

ground

2 In tobacco growing: a plot of lings are

1

bed

/

.

.

.

species [Lophodytes cucullatus]

3 In logging: a pile of small trees used to cushion the fall of a large tree; hence bedding the trees or any piece of ground so Also called layout n Cf bed v 1 used, chiefly Pacific 1936 in 1949 Powers Redwood Country 16 nCA, sOR, After determining the direction of the fall [of a redwood tree], smaller trees, called 'bedding.' are felled into the layout to build up the low spots. 1941 Williams Strange Woman 430 ME, Dan saw the first tree come down. It crashed down upon the Bed pieces had been laid to break its fall bed pieces with a tremendous, ground-shaking impact. 1949 Powers Redwood Country 5 nCA, sOR, A tree several yards through and from was likely to break up and be made two to three hundred feet high worthless unless there was prepared for it a soft bed. which upon uneven ground might require enough wood to suffice a householder for a year. 1959 AmSp 34.76 nCA, Bedding ... A bed into which large trees are felled to prevent breakage, made by leveling the ground surface either through excavation or filling or both. 1968 DARE Tape CA103, When they chop 'em down they have to have a bed for 'em to drop on. 4 See quot. Cf bed v 4, bank n 1 1967-70 DARE (Qu. M19, A place for keeping carrots, turnips, potatoes, and so on over the winter) Inf AL31, Potato or carrot bed; NJ67,

scie; this (the

Turnip bed.

jbecome v To resemble. 1969 DARE (Qu. Z10, If a child looks very much like his father, you his father. ") Inf GA72, Becomes. might say "He

become to be v phr To come about, come

to be.

1970 Green Ely 155 TN, Most colored people don't work on this day. This became to be [held] anHow this day became to be is this When he later became to be Judge everything about it was nually 1970 DARE Tape MI 121, When the Western states a part of him. .

.

.

became

.

.

.

.

.

to be settled.

becount n [Perh blend of because + account] 1966 DARE Tape MS72, On becount of the way that man

talked.

bec-scie n Also sp bexie [See quot 1931] Gulf States, esp LA Any of three ducks: the common merganser, the hooded merganser, or the red-breasted merganser. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 75, The captain adds that the present is known to all about Mobile, as BecFrench for "Sawbill") distinguishing it from the Sea Bec-scie. 1917 DN 4 .422 LA, American merganser .. .Bec-scie. Ibid Bec-scie. Ibid 429, Red-breasted mer426, Hooded merganser ganser Bec-scie de mer. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.4, Vernacular Names Mergansers In local use. Bec-scie (sawbill, 1931 Read LA sometimes misspelled "bexie") ( Ala., Miss., La.). French 8, Bec-scie American Merganser This duck owes its .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

name

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

to the fact that the teeth in

bill

its

.

.

resemble the edge of a

saw Bec-scie deMer, "sea saw-bill," is the name of the Red-breasted Merganser Bec-scie du Lac, "lake saw-bill," or Bec-scie de Cypriere, "Cypress-swamp saw-bill," distinguishes the Hooded Merganser. 1962 Imhof AL Birds 160, Hooded Merganser Other Names: Bec-scie, Bexie. Ibid 161, Common Merganser Other Names: Bec-scie. Bexie. 1968 DARE (Qu. Q5) Inf LA44, Bec-scie [.bek'si] they got a sort of pointy mouth, like. More like a chicken; LA37, Bec-scie mer [,bi-g,si'mer], grand bec-scie, petit bec-scie; (Qu. Q9) Inf LA44, Bec-scie .

.

NW

1

.

1

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

1

5 =stoneboat; see quot. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. L57,

A

low wooden platform used for bringing PA 141, Stone {or rock)

stones or heavy things out ofthefields) Infs KY64, bed; M025, Gravel bed; OH90, Bed.

A place where fish congregate and may be caught. 968 DARE (Qu. P9) Inf GA47, A bed of fish or a school offish is a spot where they catch 'em. 6

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

bed 1

v

now

occas with up: In logging: to furnish with a bed n B3.

NW

chiefly Pacific

1792 Belknap

Hist.

NH 3.103, When a mast tree

is

to be felled,

.

the

.

workmen have a contrivance which they call bedding the tree; they and place them so that the falling cut down a number of smaller trees tree may lodge on their branches. 1905 U.S. Forest Serv. Bulletin 6 .30 Pacific NW, Bed a tree, to. To level up the path in which a tree is to fall, so that it may not be shattered. 1 968 DARE Tape CA 00, They had a big tree laying along the hillside and they'd fell him [=the tree] .

.

.

.

1

[.bek'si].

becuz See because conj

bed n Usu

A 1

1

|bed|; also, chiefly Sth, |beid|

Pronc-sp baid

and

Forms. Prone varr.

1

,

1

.

.

place where an animal sleeps.

Sth,

S Midi

1938 Rawlings Yearling 373 FL, Wherever the bed, it was hollowed out over the edge of which the bear would rest his forequarters. 1939 Hall Coll. eTN, So we found his sign and found where he was 1966-70 a-layin'. His bed was warm yet, so we knowed he was close. in a trench,

DARE Tape AR56, The pigs too little to follow, they stayed in the bed; GA3, There was a bed with some pigs in it; NC30, By the time you get the last

dog turned loose,

.

him bedded up

they had

To plow

so

it

didn't break.

(land) into broad ridges in preparation

chiefly Sth

1830 W. Edwards MS Diary 13 April NC (DA), Bedding low grounds. 1858 TX Almanac for 1859 8 The ploughs should be started to bed up the ground. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 37'3 FL He planned to have the ground in good condition, bedded up and ready to plant in early March. 1942 Faulkner Go Down 42 MS, If it had not been for George Wilkins. he would have had it [=a cotton field] all broken and bedded and ready now. 1946 PADS 6.5 swVA, eNC. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bed up ground ... To form rows with four furrows turned together. Also called listing. Rarely found now. 1967 Key Tobacco Vocab. GA, They bed up 1

,

.

.

the rows.

3 freq with out: To place (esp sweet potatoes) in specially prepared ground for sprouting. 1854 Davis Farm Bk. 19 (DA) AL, Bedded it & planted it in Spanish & yam Potatoes then bedded about 35 or 40 bushels of Potatoes for slips. 1858 TX Almanacfor 1859 82, If he has bedded his sweet potatoes early the ground should be sufficiently moist he will have slips to set for early use. 1967 DARE (Qu. L22, When talking about a crop he intends to plant a farmer might say) Inf LA 10, Bed it out. bed sugar cane; LA7, Bed out sweet potatoes.

—

Senses.

The

.

for planting,

2 with the: One's bed. chiefly Sth, S Midi 1946 AmSp 2 .270 neKY, Phrase, 'In the bed.' 'He's been sick in the bed all week.' i was so tired (tard) I was in the bed before eight o'clock.' This use of the definite article may derive from a time when one house normally contained one bed. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. X43b) Inf MS63. Stayed on the bed; (Qu. BB4 1 ) Infs AR2 1 VA74, (Sick) in the bed; (Qu. BB42) Inf MA5, In the bed; (Qu. BB43) Inf GA42, On the bed; GA72, Homesteaded in the bed; (Qu. 113) Infs AR3, 18, 33, Thick as six in the bed; KY44, Like two in the bed. 1973 Patrick Coll. Sth, In the bed Sick in bed. "She is in the bed." .

.

2 usu with up:

1905 Culbertson Banjo Talks 165 (ADD) Sth, I tucken hit inter baid. 1917 Torrence Granny Maumee 51 Sth [Black], I goin' to baid. 1925 ZW 5.358 seGA, [beid].

B

.

this first

dog has got to where the bear is layin' in

his

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

4 To store vegetables

in a bed n B4. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 278 FL, "Now you take down that tipply-tumbly pen, and build a coop to kiver the 'taters." With the potatoes bedded and covered, there was no more serious trouble. 1967 DARE .

bed.

.

.

]

bed baby

bedide

/

196

M

(Qu. 1 9, A place for keeping carrots, turnips, potatoes, and so on over the winter) Inf AL15, Bed them; AL31, Potatoes are piled in a cave on straw, with straw around and then dirt packed around called it "bedding" the item.

—

To cause to be in bed. 1944 PADS 2.40 wNC, Bed ... To cause to go to bed "If you fool with me, I'll bed you." 1969 D ARE (Qu. BB41, Not seriously ill, butsick enough to be in bed: "He's been for a week.") Inf MA69, Bedded.

5a

.

b often with longer."

no

longer.

late

6 1

it:

To

.

it

.

.

.

To

lie

abed. "I ain't goin' to bed

it

no

1931 PMLA 46. 1 320 Appalachians, I won't bed it (lie in bed) 1944 PADS2A0 wNC, Bed To lie in bed. "He's bedding .

.

.

970 DARE (Qu. LL24, To keepfirewood neat you have to cut it,

bed baby n Cf apron 1954 Harder

Coll.

it,

child

cwTN, Bed-baby

bed blanket n [Redund;

cf Intro

...

A

baby too small to crawl.

"Language Changes"

1.4]

A blanket. 1770 in \9\SMD Hist. Mag. 13.68, 6 prof the Best Bed Blankets. 1850 Judd Richard Edney 28 MA, She went half a mile, with a bed-blanket, before tea. 1904 DN 2.424 Cape Cod MA. 1949 Webber Backwoods Teacher 262 Ozarks, A shiny milk bucket, pans and lids, a pair of "bed blankets," and what not. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.519. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bed blanket Just blanket, with no intention of distin.

.

[Ger

betteln, Bettler]

PaGer

1 1 sePA, That old beddlar (beggar) don't guess he beddled himself enough money to quit

beddling.

bedfast adj Also, by folk-etym, bed-fastened, ~ fasting [bed fast fixed, immovable; OED "north, dial, and Sc." a 1639

+

—

chiefly Midi,

West See Map or injury; bedrid-

illness, infirmity

den.

DN

1890 1.69, Bed-fast: confined to bed. I have heard this word but once, and in the parish of East Baton Rouge [LA] ... An Illinois friend

DN

me that it is common in that state.

DN

1892 1 .234 KY. 1907 Bedfast Bedridden. "He is old and bedfast now." 1927 5.468 Appalachians, Bed-fast Confined to bed; bed-ridden. 1935 Advertiser (Huntington WV) 24 Jan (AmSp 14.155),

nwAR, seMO,

.

.

.

DN

split

NC88, Bed.

up) Inf

it

hence beddlar n

1939 Aurand Quaint Idioms

3.229

stack, put in a pile.

and

v,

beg; a beggar.

come around no more;

tells

today."

To

To

Confined to bed because of

in bed.

lie

DN 4.408 wNC, Bed

1917

.

beddle

.

.

.

His father had been bedfast since the accident. 1939 AmSp 14.155 neKY, csOH, cwWV. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bedfast— Confined to his bed or bedrid. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB43) 243 Infs, chiefly Midi, West, Bedfast; GA8, Bed-fasting; GA77, Bed-fastened; (Qu. BB41) 66 Infs, chiefly N Midi, KY, Bedfast; (Qu. BB42) 9 Infs, Bedfast. 1967 Independence Enterprise (OR) 12 Jan 3/3, [He] is recovering from a heart attack he had the week before Christmas. He will be bedfast for about three weeks.

.

guishing kinds of blankets: dog, baby, horse, etc. "Ma always made us take a bed blanket to wrap up with, even when it was hot weather."

bedbound

adj

=bedfast. 1968 DARE (Qu. BB43, A person who has to stay in bed all the time: ") Inf AK "For two years now he's been Bedbound. 1 ,

bedbug hunter n Also masked

(bedbug) hunter

[See quots]

An

assassin bug (here: Reduvius personatus). 1895 Comstock Manual Insects 137, In the Atlantic States one sometimes finds a bug having its body and legs completely covered with This is the Masked Bed-bug Hunter. dust 1911 Century Diet. Suppi, Bedbug-hunter It preys upon bedbugs, flies, and other household pests. When young it disguises its appearance by covering itself with dust and fibers Called the masked bedbug-hunter. 1964 BorrorDeLong Intro. Insects 229, The masked hunter is a brownish-black bug that is often found in houses. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bedbug row n Also bedbug alley

A squalid and run-down

building or area of a town. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. C35, Nicknames for parts ofa city) Inf PA88, Bedbug Row; (Qu. VI 1, Joking names .for a .jail) Inf CA147, Bedbug Alley; (Qu. 1125, Nicknames for the part of a town where the poorer people live) Inf NJ33, Bedbug Row. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

bed clothes n 1972 Carr Da Kine

Talk 122 HI,

"No can go show in bed clothes!"

In

American speech, bed clothes refers ordinarily to blankets and sheets, night clothes to pajamas and gowns. In Hawaii, bed clothes seems to cover both meanings.

bedcord strong 1953 Randolph strong indeed.

A

adj

phr

Down

in

Holler 226 Ozarks, Bedcord strong

.

.

.

Very and

reference to the stout cords which serve as slats

"Jim

he's

bedcord strong when

bedded

ppl adj 1944 Adams Western Words, Bedded In the cowman's language, this means that a roped animal has been thrown full length with such force as

—

it

to

night, esp

1874 McCoy Cattle Trade 99 West, When all is still, and the herd well over its scare, they are returned to their bed-ground, or held where stopped until daylight. 1903 ( 1 965) Adams Log Cowboy 24 sTX, The only fault I ever found with Priest was that he could use the poorest

judgment in selecting a bed ground for our blankets. 1929 AmSp 5.55 NE, The more particular ranchers have "bed grounds" or a "bedding place" for their cattle, a piece of ground, often within the corral, covered thinly with hay and near the "feed place," a mound of hay. 1938 (1952)

FWP Guide SD 85.

1939 FWP Guide MT4 1 3, Bedding ground— Shel-

tered place where stock beds down at night, usually in a ravine or a

clump

FWP Guide WY459.

1942 Dale CowCountry51 West, Toward sundown the herd was moved out away from the stream to a stretch of level land which would furnish a suitable 'bed ground.' 1959 Robertson Ram 204 cID (as of c 1 908), The life of a sheepherder is full of sit up half the night to keep his flock from ups and downs. He may leaving the bedground. 1966 DARE Tape NM14, They'd [=cattle] leave the bed-ground and walk from three to five miles. 1941

.

it

to book-learnin'."

to cause

bed-ground n Also bedding ground, ~ place West An area where cattle or sheep are bedded down for the on a drive; also transf.

ofbrush.

springs in the old-fashioned bedsteads.

comes

BB43)

(Qq. BB41, BB42,

.

.

.

•bedfast + varr

.

bed house n

A caboose. 1945 in 1 953 Botkin Treas. Railroad Folkl. 344 [In a list of terms for the bedhouse. 1977 Adams crummy, way car, van It is a Lang. Railroader 12, Bed house: A caboose.

lie still.

caboose],

bedder n [bed v 2] A type of plow used

to bed land. 70 DARE (Qu. L 1 8, Kinds ofplows) Inf TX5 1 Bedder row, modern; TX89, Bedder puts land up in rows. 1 968 -

,

—

— 2 and 4

.

.

.

.

bedide intj [Euphem for be damned or bedad by God] Used as a mild oath. 1903 Wasson Cap'n Simeon 's Store 4 ME, Then, thinks I, bedide ef I 1 1

bedding See bed n B3 bedding ground, bedding place See bed-ground

don't try a trip or two into one o' them timber ships they was about so much.

all telling

I

bed

197

bed

line

Ways offishing

besides the ordinary hook and line) Inf SC43, Bed line six-inch lines with baited hooks hanging from the longer line which is strung from bank to bank [across a stream].

PI

3,

.

.

—

.

.

bed log n 1.

sink,

usu near a kitchen]

bed louse n

DARE

1965-70

Bed

scattered,

(Qu. R24,

louse;

bed moth n [Perh

.

.

Other names

MN28, NY52, OKI for

1,

.for a bedbug) 21 Infs,

.

VT 16,

Bed

bed moss: cf house moss]

E20. Soft rolls of dust that collect on the floor under beds or other furniture) Inf M08, Bed moth.

.

bed-slat

animal

.

1965-70 DARE (Qu. F38, 12 Infs, Bed pot.

.

cent Missip Valley

bed for use at

night)

bedrid adj Bedridden. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bed rid. Confined to bed for a long time. 1964 Faulkner As I Lay Dying 84 MS, He might have hurt himself bed-rid. How far'd you fall, Cash? 1965-70 DARE (Qu. BB43) Inf GA19, NJ21, NY27, PA4, 8, Bedrid.

A

house

chiefly Sth, esp

S Atl See Map

slipper.

cl960 Wilson

Coll.

;

n

rib

itself.

Adams

Western Words, Bed-slat ribs

— Said of an animal

in

poor

A cowhand in New Mexico told me of a drought when "them

condition.

bed-slats got so

poor

their

Adams Old-Time Cowhand

shadows developed holes in 'em." 1961 have "bed155, Poor calves were said to .

.

slat ribs."

bed

slipper n [Abbr for

bedroom

?Nth

slipper]

Cf bedroom

shoe, house shoe

1965 DARE (Qu. W21, Soft shoes that people wear only inside the house) Infs CT23, 34. MI81, NY49, VT8, Bed slippers.

bed

spell, set a

1933

AmSp

"You-all

v phr

8.1.52 Ozarks, Set a bed spell ...

To

stay until bedtime.

me

an'

Mary"

come

over, an' set a

bedstead n Usu

bed

|'bed,sted|;

spell

with

also,

chiefly

Sth,

S

Std sense, var forms. 1751 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 307 NC, Bedstids. 1820 Ibid, A bedBedstids. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bedstid. Bedstead. 1914 Furstead. 1908 DN 3.289 eAL, wGA, Bed-stid man Sight 42 KY, Take the women's bonnets, Evy, and lay 'em on my 'stead. 1936 AmSp 11.317 Ozarks, Stid ... A bedstead. A young bride told us: 'Maw gimme two stids an' th' makin's for 'em.' that is, shuck 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, mattresses, featherbeds, and coverlets. 1959 VT Hist, ns 27.125, Bedstead Stid... A bedstead. ['bed,stid] Occasional. Rural areas. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bedstead /'bed,stid/ "This is an old bedstid that belonged to Grandma."

.

.

.

Unknown in older days.

1965-70 DARE (Qu. W21) 55 Infs, chiefly Sth, esp S Atl, Bedroom VA48, Bed shoes. 1970 DARE File wNC, I can't go outside have my bedroom shoes on. 1982 DARE File eVA, I went upstairs to change out of my bedroom shoes, forgot what I was doing, and came down with them on.

—

shoes;

.

.

.

bedstead

An

.

.

.

.

relation

n

in-law.

1961

csKY, Bedroom shoes

Midi,

Also abbr stead; pronc-spp bedstid, stid

|('bed),stid|

.

Utensil kept under the

bedroom shoe n Also bed shoe

.

.

.

bed pot n scattered, but esp A chamber pot.

.

protruding rib of an emaciated animal; hence bed slat the

1944

1943 Bauersfeld Breezes from Persimmon Holler 1 1 5 (Randolph Down 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 226 Ozarks, in Holler 226) Ozarks. Bed-post ... To confine a small child by placing a bedpost on his dress or other garment. In Stone County, Mo., the county nurse and I entered a cabin where two children were sitting on the floor. They smiled but didn't get up. Their mother was out picking greens. "She's got us bed-posted down," said one, "so we cain't mess with the fire." Then I noticed that each child's shirt-tail was put under the bedpost, so that he of Mincy, Mo. told me that this was a comcouldn't move. Mary mon practice in the backwoods. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, BedTo confine a child by placing a bedpost on his dress. [1981 Mew post Yorker 9 Feb 38 KY, "We'll never go anywhere. We've got our dress tail on a bedpost." [sic] "What does that mean?" "Use to, if a storm was coming, people would put a bedpost on a child's dress tail, to keep him from blowing away. In other words, we're tied down."] .

Minnesota, offered

Upstate.

bedpost v S Midi Seequot 1953.

.

in Marshall,

1

A

.

inf.

word for a small alcove off a kitchen where older people could sleep warmly in winter. 1982 McDavid Coll n.N Y (as of 940s), Bedsink wasn't recorded in LANE but I have found it often in Upstate NY, especially from the Finger Lakes west. As defined by my informants, it was a windowless alcove off the kitchen, with a curtain rather than a door, just large enough for a bed and dresser my informants said that it was designed as a place where grandpa and grandma could sleep warm on the cold nights that were so common

be doing See be a-doing

.

An

1.166, state

.

lice.

DARE (Qu.

.

LAUM

New York

bedsink, a

1967 DARE (Qu. D33, When you build afire in the fireplace, what do you call the big log that goes behind the others?) Inf NY4, Bed log.

1967

bedsink n [Prob blend of bedroom and sinkroom a room with a See quots. 1973 Allen

=backlog

bed swell

/

bed shoe See bedroom shoe

n

DARE (Qu.

1967

line

DARE (Qu. Z9)InfVVA20. Bedstead relations— the ones you get

in marriage.

bedstick n See quots. Bedstaff. A long stick 1 899 ( 9 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bedstick used for smoothing the bedclothes when bedsteads were too high and broad to be reached with the hand. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.519. Bed-stick ... A smooth stick about three feet long used to level a feather bed when making it up. 1967 LeCompte Word Atlas 143 seLA. 1

1

.

.

.

bedstraw n genus Galium formerly used to fill matAlso called beggar's lice 5, chickenweed, cleavers, goose

Std: a plant of the tresses.

grass, gull grass, robin-run-ahead, stickleback, wild licorice.

For other names of var spp see baby's breath 2 b, cross cleavers, glue leaf, kidney vine, lady's bedstraw, Scotch mist, stickygrass, whip-tongue, wild madder

bedstraw milkweed n A milkweed (here: Asclepias

subverticillata).

1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. W29. Horsetail milkweed [Asclepias galioides], also known as bedstraw milkweed and whorled milkweed ranks among those plants most deadly to range livestock. .

.

bed-stretcher See stretcher

bed swell n

bed rug n

[Engl dial] arch 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bed-rug

coverlid.

.

.

.

A

counterpane; a

A

ground

swell.

bed wagon

DARE

1966 swell

— quite

bed wagon

beebalm

/

198

(Qu. 015, Different kinds of waves) Inf don't break. .

.

MI 14,

Bed

big,

West wagon used

n, also attrib

In cattle ranching: a

to carry

bedding and supplies.

Country a Bee). 1816 in 1924 Kittredge Old Farmer 169 NEng, Husking is now a business for us all. If you make what some call a Bee, it will be necessary to keep an eye on the boys, or you may have to husk over again the whole heap. 1890 Custer Following 257 West, If one of us was plunged into difficulties the rest came in for a "bee," and made light work about the sewing-machine. 1905 DN 3.3 eCT. 1909 DN 3.408 nME, Bee ... A neighborhood gathering for special work. Various kinds of bees are distinguished, as quilting bee, chopping bee, in the

.

.

1948 Colorado Mag. 25.71 CO, He, upon seeing my condition, very kindly asked me to ride in his bed wagon, one that carries the bedding. 1909 Sat. Eve. Post 2 Jan 8/2 OK, I've got to shoe that lil' ol' bedwagon mule. 1935 Sandoz Jules 83 nwNE (as of 1880-1930), Irwin sent twelve good cow hands equipped with grub and bed wagons into the hills. 1945 Thorp Pardner 240 SVV, If the outfit was of medium size, and it was not expected that very many stray men would work with them, the bedrolls were all piled into the one wagon. If a good many extra hands were expected, the ranch would furnish a second wagon, known as the bed wagon. 1967 DARETape C05, In Wyoming they always have a chuckwagon and a bedwagon, two wagons.

1869

in

.

.

.

.

bee n 1

1

A small lump of yeast cells in mycelium, used in making wine, and

[From

appearance of busy activity as it rises and sinks in the fermenting liquid] 1914 Hartford Times (CT) 17 Apr 8, My acquaintance with Australian bees, the "California bees" of your correspondent dates back some vinegar,

beer.

its

.

.

two

years. In another guise they were, so I found, very old acquaintances ... [A patient speaks:] "Doctor, do you know anything about these here Australian bees?" Ibid 29 Apr 2, Suspended in the liquid are the "bees", varying in size from that of a number four shot to that of a Kidney bean, and looking like lumps of dough as much as anything. If one looks closely they will observe quantities of bubbles arising and mounting to the surface, which furnishes a clue as to what is going on within. After coming to rest in a suitable place where the temperature is maintained at about 68 or 70 degrees, the bees will be seen to leave the bottom and ascend to the top where after remaining an instant they will turn and descend again to the bottom. Ibid, Not many yeasts aggregate themselves into masses such as we see here The one we are studying here has been propagated for generations in some of the counties of southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, where they are known as "beer bees." They are valued because of the comparatively high percentage of alcohol that they are able to produce ... In other words, they .

make a

.

plowing bee, piling bee, husking bee, sewing bee, paring bee, spelling bee. 1910 3.437 cwNY. 1938 AmSp 13.21 NE (as of 19th cent), [Footnote:] Bees were an important part of the social life. I have collected accounts of 'breaking (sod plowing) bees,' 'husking bees,' 'painting bees,'

DN

'stone bees,' 'paring bees,' 'apple bees,' 'knitting bees,' 'quilting bees,' 'spelling bees,' 'kissing bees' in the early

1950

days of Nebraska.

WELS

(When a farmer gels help on a job from his neighbors) 2 Infs, WI, A bee. 1953 Sun (Baltimore MD) 31 Aug ed. B 3/4 (Hench Coll.) MI, Homes mushroomed throughout the tornado-made wilderness of Flint's 5,000 "good neighbors" turned out in "the na1965-70 DARE (Qu. FF2, Kinds of parties) 53 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, Bees; 22 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, (Corn-) husking bees; MI 18, 28, 66, MA24, VT3, Work bees; IN45, MI 06, Barn raising bees; IN 1 0, Apple-cutting bee; MI9, Painting bee, roofing bee; SD8, Shingling bee; NY115, Cancer-dressing bees; IA9, Carpet-rag bees; IN 19, Carpeting bees; SD8, Chicken-picking bees; VA42, Singing bees: IL58, Thrashing bees; IL4, Wood-chopping bees; (Qu. FF1, A "social" or "sociable') Inf NJ1, Husking bee; C027, Bees;(Qu. FF4, Joking names for dancing parties) Inf NY59, Bees; (Qu. FF9, A Christmas gathering where there are songs and presents) InfOH72, Singing bee;(Qu. FF16, Local contests or celebrations)lnk CT6. NJ33, Corn-husking bees; (Qu. W32, A group of women that meet to sew together) Inf 107, Bee; NY 109, Women's bee; 165, Mending bee; (Qu. DD34, A party at which there is considerable drinking) Inf WA3, Drinking bee.

Beecher

district as

.

.

tion's biggest building bee."

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

NY

NY

.

strong beer.

2 Pressure exerted on someone, often to make or repay a loan usu in phr put the bee on (someone). [In allusion to a bee's stinging and to sting to cheat, defraud] 1918 Witwer Baseball to Boches 1 3 1 NYC, It's always open season for Americans over here [=France]. They sure know how to put the bee on "To put the bee you too. 1929 AmSp 4.338 [Vagabond argot]. Bee on," means to beg. 1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Bee. "To put the bee on" is to beg or borrow, usually with a hard luck story. To say, "I put the bee on him," usually means that the donor has been "stung" when he 1938 AmSp 13.5 seAR, gives up the loan, since seldom is it repaid. Bee Til put the bee on him.' That is, I'll plague him. This use is probably a variant from the usual one of 'bee in one's bonnet.' 1958 Blasingame Dakota Cowboy 124, We figured we had fixed things up just dandy for "Uncle Frank" and that the bee wouldn't be on him any more. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. U16, If somebody was caught short of money and went to a friend to get some) Inf CA 197, Putting the bee on him; TX5, I'd like to put the bee on you for five dollars; (Qu. U 1 8, Ifyou force somebody to pay money that he owes you, but that he did not want to pay) Infs GA44, WA30, Put the bee on him; (Qu. Y6, Words meaning to put pressure on somebody to do something he ought to have done but ") 11 Infs, hasn't: "He's a whole week late. I'm going to scattered, Put the bee on him; (Qu. GG24, Other words meaning to you. ") Inf IN5 Put the bee frighten: 'Now don let thosefellows on; (Qu. AA5, If a woman seems to be going after one certain man that him. ") Inf KY94, Put the bee on. she wants to marry: "She's

—

m}

— —

.

.

't

'

bee n 2

,

freq in comb [Orig uncertain; perh alter of been, bean boon sb. 2 2, "Voluntary help, given varr of Engl dial boon: ,

EDD

to a farmer etc."

Prob

by

his neighbours, in

time of harvest, haymaking,

also in allusion to the social behavior of the insect.]

chiefly Nth,

N

Midi (exc

in

combs

quilting ~,

sewing ~,

n

2

+

varr

(Qq. FF2, FF1, FF4, FF9, FF16,

W32, DD34)

bee v Also sp bie esp

[See quot

1

924] chiefly Ger settlement areas,

PA

Come!

—

used as a call to chickens. call for chickens. d[ialect] 1924 Lambert PA Ger. Diet. 28, Bie! bie! Word Geog. 65, Calls to 1949 Kurath G[erman] bieb. The German bee! is still common in the Pennsylvania Chickens German area. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. K79, How do you call the chickens 1971 to you at feeding time?) Infs PA3, 21, 158, Bee (bee bee, etc.). .

.

Wood

.

.

.

Change 183 TN, GA,

A

UM

Bee, in the east seems to be common among the

Vocab.

1973 Allen LA

1

call to

chickens

.267, Calls to chickens at feeding

.

.

.

.

[2 infs] bee.

.

a typical Pennsylvania German call, German Russians in southeastern North Dakota.

beebalm n [From 1

=horsemint

its

sweet fragrance that attracts bees]

1.

MA

Zool. & Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 175, Mfon1840 Commonly called balm or bee-balm. 1887 Century ardaj didyma Illustr. Mag. 34.328, I have never found it [=cardinal flower] with its only rival color, the monarda or bee-balm, a species of mint. 1904 Waller Wood-carver 264 VT, Some stalks of the bee-balm stand in my pitcher on the bench. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. W132, The beebalms are widely distributed within their range, and are common PI. 1 89 Infs NC28, and often locally abundant. 1966 DARE Wildfl .

spell-

~ which are widespread) See Map meeting or social gathering to accomplish cooperatively a particular task or to engage in some group activity. 1769 Boston Gaz. & Country Jrl. (Boston MA) 16 Oct 1/3 seMA, Last Thursday about Twenty young Ladies met at the House of Ms. Nehemiah Liscome, here, on purpose for a Spinning Match: (or what is call'd ing

A

•bee

.

.

.

QR

WI34,Beebalm. 1966-69£>,4#£(Qu.S26a)InfsCTl 1,NJ29,NY199,

bee basswood

199

Beebalm; (Qu. S26d) Infs KY24, MA6, Beebalm. 1976 Dodge RoadSVV, Also known as wild bergamot, beebalm ... is readily recognized as a mint because of its square stem.

side Wild/lowers 6

1

=lemon balm. 1869 U.S. Dept. Ag. Rept. ofSecy, for 1868 28 Plants from which bees [include] bee-balm, (Melissa officinalis). gather honey and pollen 1931 Bee-balm. 1903 Porter' Flora PA 270, Melissa officinalis Haraed Wild Flowers Alleghanies 432, Bee-Balm ... A lemon-scented plant naturalized from Europe. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pa404, M. officinalis Garden, lemon, or bee balm. cific 2

1

,

.

.

.

NW

.

bee basswood See bee

.

.

.

beebee n youngest

member

(as

beef

bee-butcher n

A

dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae. DARE File FL, Coryphaeschina ingens (possibly other large aeshnids also) is known as bee-butcher from its habit of preying on honey 1965

bees.

bee catcher n

.

tree

[Alter of baby] 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words cPA Mts

/

of c 1900),

Beebee— The

also bee killer:

1

=robber

fly.

1859 Gosse Letters from AL 211,1 have since observed this powerful and predaceous fly carrying insects heavier than itself, on several occasions, and so well are its instincts recognised, that it has obtained the common name of the "Bee-catcher." 1901 Howard Insect Book 141, Persons engaged in bee culture especially fear these robber-flies, which are

known

rather generally in this country as bee-killers.

2 =kingbird.

of a family or brood.

bee bee bumblebee exclam In the game of hide and seek: see quot. 1966 DARE (Qu. EE 5, When he has caught the first ofthose that were

1967-70 DARE (Qu. Q14) Inf IL 143. Bee catcher— a small gray bird with colored feathers on the head to attract insects; 1, Martin a

—

MOl

bee catcher.

1

hiding what does the player who Bee bee bumblebee, all come in

bee

"it" call out to the others?) Inf NC30,

is

beechdrops n Cf Albany beechdrops, Carolina beechdrops, beechdrops slender-stemmed plant (Epifagus virginianaj parasitic on the roots of beech trees. Also called broomrape, cancer drops, false

free.

A

1

bird n

=kingbird. [See quot 1862] 1862 in 1 865 IL State Ag. Soc. Trans. 5.734, The Bee bird will eat bees, and working bees even, when he cannot get drones. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 2.192, Tyrannus tyrannus Other Names Beebird. 1936 Bee-bird .. (from its feeding on Oriole 1.10, Eastern Kingbird. honey-bees). 1965-70 DARE (Qu.Q 14) 10 Infs, chiefly SAtl, Bee bird. 1

.

.

.

—

.

.

=summer tanager. Birds AR 70, This tanager has received the name of "bee

2 also red bee bird: 1911 Howell

bird" on account of

habits of feeding

its

— Rose

Bulletin 29.2.83, Piranga rubra.

on honeybees.

1917 Wilson

tanager, beebird,

Hickman,

cancerroot 1, fir-rape 1815 Drake Natural View Cincinnati 86, Plants useful in medicine [include] beech-drops, the root. 1822 Eaton Botany 272, Epiphegus virginianus [sic] [sic] beech drops, cancer-root The whole plant is yellowish-white and of a naked appearance. 1861 Wood ClassBook 511, Beechdrops Parasite on the roots of the beech. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 470, Beech drops, more showy in its purple-and-white striped bloom than the squaw-root, chooses to grow on the beech. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 454, Beech Drops If you are not familiar with these curious little naked parasites you may pass over them. 1969 DARE(Qu. S26c, Wildflowers that grow in woods) Inf RI15, Beechdrops. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

AmSp

30.184, Another insect term gets into a bird

name

to

indicate small size (and perhaps similarity in flight) in bee bird {Ohio) for

(here:

Gaura

suffulta).

TX 1126.

spp.).

1933 Small Manual

SE

.

.

[See quot 1889]

1889 Century Diet., Bee-bread A plant much visited by bees or cultivated for their use, as red clover, Trifolium pratense, or borage. .

.

.

1900 Lyons Plant Names 377, TfrifoliumJ pratense Bee-bread. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9, Bee bread: Trifolium pratense. .

.

[See quot 1951]

var southwestern shrubs of the genera Aloysia and Lippia, but esp A. lycioides which is also called bee blossom 2, hierba dulce, hummingbird brush, Mexican heliotrope, palo amarillo, vara dulce, whitebrush. For other names of var spp see high-mass, redbrush, sweet-stem See also bee myrtle 1951 PADS 15.39 TX, Aloysia ligustrina Bee, or hummingbird, brush. One of the loveliest to see, or to smell, of all the Texas wild shrubs, and beloved of bees and hummingbirds. 1960 Vines Trees 5W888, Aloysia ligustrina Vernacular names are Bee-brush, White-brush [etc.] Plant is considered good bee food. 1970 Correll Plants TX 334, Aloysia macrostachya Woolly bee-brush. Ibid 1 335, Aloysia gratissima Common Bee-brush. 1981 Benson -Darrow Trees Deserts 202, Lippia Wrightii Bee Brush Lippia gratissima Bee Brush. .

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

SW

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Improperly

3 =sweet pinesap. 1911 Century Diet. Suppi, Beech-drops

.

.

.

The sweet pine-sap, Mono-

[sic].

bee clover n 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. W123, White sweetclover, also as bee-clover, honeyclover is a robust biennial herb.

known

.

.

.

.

.

.

beef n A Forms. 1 sg: usu beef; rarely, by back-formation from pi, beeve. 1859 (1965) Marcy Prairie Traveler 38, They covered the entire shoe with green beeve or mule hide, drawn together and sewed upon the top. with the hair inside.

.

Any of

.

.

Honey-cups.

.

clover.

.

.

beedie See biddy n 3

Flora 662, Chamaecrista

Bee-blossoms. Partridge-peas.

bee brush n

.

beed See be Big

senna (Cassia

=red

1900 Lyons Plant Names 114, CfonopholisJ Americana it grows in Oak woods.

=white sweetclover.

brush, Bee-blossom.

bee bread n

2 =squawroot.

.

=bee brush.

A

.

.

Monotropa hypopitys .

1960 Vines Trees SW^ 888, Vernacular names are Bee-brush, White-

3

.

A pinesap (here: Monotropa hypopithys). 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9, Beech drop: Epifagus virginiana;

.

2

.

4

1961 Wills- Irwin Flowers TX 165, Gaura suffulta Known as Beeblossom and Kisses, grows mainly in limestone soils. 1970 Correll Plants

.

tropsis odorata.

the ruby-throated hummingbird.

bee-blossom n 1 A butterfly weed 2

.

.

.

called Beech-drops, as

3 =ruby-throated hummingbird. 1955

.

.

.

1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 566, Summer Tanager Other Names Red Bee Bird Often is seen darting about in the open after flying insects. 1969 DARE FW Addit KY31, Bee bird (summer tanager) the kingbird is rare in the Southern mountains; KY39, Bee bird or dogwood winter bird. Bee bird is common (Summer tanager). Ky.

.

.

2 pi: usu beef, beefs; also, esp in Plains States, TX, beeves. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Beef. In Louisiana, Texas, and some other parts of the South-west, an ox is called a beef, and oxen, beeves. 1872 Burnham Memoirs U.S. Secret Service 234, This last comer was a cattle-dealer from New Jersey, and had come all the way north in search of beeves and a few Canadian or Vermont horses. 1899 Beeves. 1920 Hunter Trail (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Beef. Drivers TX 267, We gathered fed beeves that year. 1921 Thorp Songs Cowboys 84 TX, We had no little herd two thousand head or more And some as wild brush beeves as you ever saw before. 1929 AmSp 5.68 NE, The "spring round-up" is for the purpose of branding not for yielding "beeves" for the market. 1961 Sackett-Koch KS Folkl. 202, To many it was a day ofjoy and high speculation. There were fresh-killed beeves hanging in the chill granaries usually on both farmsteads, with rings of pork sausages, smoked and otherwise. 1969 DARE Tape TX75, Beeves [bivz]. .

.

—

—

.

.

B

Sense.

.

—

beef

beefsteak

/

200

See quot. 1953 Hall Coll. wNC, Beef. A piece of bear meat. "He cut [the bear] open and had him a piece of beef cut out and was going to broil and eat

not to

know by assim of f\ Cf beans,

To be

very stupid.

it."

pid:

.

.

To

beef animal) for food; hence vbl n beefing. 1869 Harper's Mag. 38.159/1 West, Then, as he expressed it, they [=buffalo] were to be beefed and sent East, or put into cattle-cars, and killed after they had arrived in the Eastern cities. 1922 Cady Rhymes of Vt. ( 923) 43 (DA), Well; I shan't call it no disgrace / To beef that critter on the place. 1929 AmSp 5. 122 ME, If a cow were unproductive it was said, "better beef her," or she is a "beef cow." 1944 Adams Western Words, Beef To kill an animal for food SlaughterBeefing ing. 1958 AmSp 33.268 eWA, Beef. To butcher (an animal). 1964 Faulkner Hamlet 158 MS, Houston just kept the yearling up Then last week for some reason he decided to go and get it. I reckon he figured 1

kill (a

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

2

To

.

.

.

.

knock (someone) down.

.

.

.

.

beef club n

1

1

acquired shares by supplying beeves to the club for butchering. Apparently this type of organization could be found scattered throughout the

South, including areas of such diverse heritage as French-settled Louisiana and the Dutch Fork of South Carolina. Ibid 2, Most clubs consisted of eight or sixteen shareholders, making up what were known as eight- and sixteen-hand clubs ... By the end of the eight or sixteen weeks each [member] would have received the equivalent of what he had contributed The beef club continued with very little modification until approximately 1940 With a ready means of preservation available, it was no longer necessary to divide beef up for quick consumption. .

.

.

.

.

beef creature n Also beef critter chiefly NEng Cf cow critter A full grown bull, cow or ox intended as a source of beef. 1782 N.H. Comm. Safety Rec. 299 (DA), Authorized Col. Badger to dispose of one beef creature towards his own Expenses. 1837 (1940) Arnold Diaries 1 34 VT, Killed a beef-creature weight 540 [lbs.]. 1858 Harper's Mag. 16.854/2 cMA, Here in the country, when one of the neighbors kills a 'beef creature,' he is expected to send a piece 'to each one of the families near by.' 1905 DN3.3 cCT, Beef. An ox. Sometimes beef critter. 1941 LANE Map 303 cnCT, [1 inf:] Dried beef'was taken out of the thigh part of the beef creature. Ibid csCT, Kill a beef critter, i.e. kill an ox for meat, father's expression. 1966 DARE Tape ME5, They'd bring in a quarter or a half of beef-critter. 1967 DARE (Qu. K22, A bull) Inf AZ2, Beef critter. 1978 UpCountry Jan 19/2 ME, He has also had sheep and a steer or two (called "beef creatures" around here) grazing in his pasture. .

.

A

.

.

beefeater n [In ref to Engl yeomen of the guard] 1 A person of English origin. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. HH28, Names and nicknames around here for people of foreign background English) Infs CA87, MA30, PA202, .

.

223, 234, Beefeaters.

2 A cattle poacher. 1958B\asingame Dakota Cowboy 183 SD(asof 1900 -10), The more I for a thought of it, the more I wanted to look inside it [=a house] Matador [Ranch] man was always on the lookout for "beefeaters."

—

bee feed n

A buckwheat

(here:

Eriogonum fasciculatum).

1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

9,

is

dumb

so

he doesn't

know

beef from

Texan.

1872 Harper's Mag. 44.318/1, Texas, Beef-Heads; Vermont, Green Mountain Boys. 1937 Shankle Nicknames 52 1 The Texans are called Beef-heads. 1968 Adams Western Words, Beef head A Texan. ,

—

mushroom

beefheart

See beefsteak fungus

bee flower n 1 The New England

Bee Feed: Eriogonum fascicula-

tum.

beefer, beef-eye See beefsteak eye

&

Zool.

aster.

Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants

The most

aster.

&

Quadrupeds

beautiful of our species

people, bee-flower, because

it

is

.

.

.

September so sought

in

for

New

by the by the

A spider flower, esp the Rocky Mountain bee plant. 1932 Rydberg Flora Prairies 385, Peritoma Bee Flower, Indian Pink, Stink Flower. 1936 McDougall Plants of Yellowstone 69, Several members of the family are quite important as honey plants [but are] represented here only by the bee-flower. 1968 Barkley Plants KS 70, Cleome serrulata Bee Flower Sandy areas, plains, 2

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

prairies.

3

An orchid (here: Ophrys apifera). 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9, Bee flower: Ophrys

apifera.

beef on week n Also beef on wick [Abbr for Ger Kummelweck caraway roll] chiefly cwNY A sandwich made of beef in a hard roll covered with grains of salt and caraway seed. 1969 wick.

DARE (Qu. H45, Dishes made with meat) Inf NY 135, Beef on 1975-77 DARE File wNY, have seen beef on wick on a menu. I

The beef was on a soft bun with three caraway seeds. Ibid Rochester NY, I saw "beef on wick" on a menu. 1980 New Yorker 25 Aug 82/3 cwNY, The tour also included a couple of places that serve beef.

on-weck

.

— a beef sandwich on a

.

.

—

which happens to be the was replaced in the hearts of true Buffalonians by 1982 Smithsonian Letters wNY, Beef on week. Week is (pronounced Kummelweck the German salty roll

local specialty that

chicken wings. short

for

Kummelweck is a crusty "kimmelwick") kling of caraway seeds and coarse salt. .

bee from a bull foot,

To be

.

.

bull's foot, not to

~

[Var of

B from

know (a)

roll

topped with a sprin-

v phr Also beeswaxfrom

(a) bull's foot, not to

know]

ignorant or stupid.

Knopf Doc. War 1812

2.207, I belong to the Artillery belonging to it that knows a Bee from a Bulls foot. 1896 1 .4 1 3 wNY, "He don't know a bee from a bull's A person who seems to you very foot." 1966-67 DARE (Qu. JJ 1 5b,

1812

in

1957

Company their is not an

officer

DN

.

"He doesn't know "He doesn't know (Qu. LL16, MSI, Bees from a bull's foot.

stupid:

.

.

beefsteak n 1 In marble 1935 AmSp is

")

.

InfTXl

1, .

Beeswax from

bull foot;

about plumbing.') Inf

play: see quot.

1 58 seNE, Beefsteak. Any game [of marbles] in which it agreed that any type of illegal play may be used which the players can

'get

away

1

0.

with.'

A

children's outdoor game: see quot. 2 1967 DARE (Qu. EE33) Inf IL20, Beefsteak— player hides eyes, others have to hide but must freeze when the person who is "it" opens his eyes (after counting to one hundred) and shouts "beefsteak"; CA4, Beefsteak.

A mistake, blunder. [Prob joe alter of mistake] 1950 WELS (An embarrassing mistake: "Last night she made an awful ") 1 Inf, ceWI, Beefsteak. 1968 DARE (Qu. JJ41) Inf IN 19,

3

Beefsteak.

4 See beefsteak plant

3.

5 A trillium (here: T. recurvatum). beafsteak 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 15, TfrilliumJ reflexum [sic]. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9, Beefsteak: Trillium re.

beef from bull's foot, not to know vphr Also beeffrom butter, ~; beeffrom the bull's tail, ~ [Prob alter of B from (a) bull's foot,

134,

called

[is]

honey-bee.

.

was widespread, a group formed to provide its members with fresh beef on a regular basis; a gathering of such a group to slaughter a beef. 1941 FWP Guide LA 641, Hog butcherings and "beef clubs" are events in the community life. 1978 Mayer Beef Club (as of 830s), A type of cooperative effort known as the beef club [developed]. Its membership consisted of those individuals in the neighborhood or countryside who In days before refrigeration

.

wKY, He

beef-head n

1840 England

1926 (1927) Black You Can't Win 185 cwCA, When one of them got peeved some hard-fisted miner beefed him like an ox with a fast one to the jaw. 1938 Stuart Dark Hills 66 KY, They said he shore beefed him. Hit him right under the eye. 1958 AmSp 33.268 eWA, Metaphorically, to knock (a man) down. 1968 Adams WestBeef. ern Words, Beef. To knock a man down. .

Coll.

bull's foot.

MA

it.

strike or

cl970 Halpert

.

.

to beef

know

1965-70 DARE (Qu. JJ1 5b, A person who seems to you very stu") Infs IN79, OKI, VA15, Beef from "He doesn't know bull's foot; NJ28, Beef from butter, NM12, Beef from the bull's tail. .

beef v

not to

flexum.

.

.

]

1

.

beefsteak

201

beefsteak

v,

West See

hence beefsteaked ppl adj

baked

also

See quots. 1927 AmSp 3. 168 SW, Cowboy Speech ... To ride so that the horse's back becomes sore is to "gimlet" or "beefsteak" him. 1929 AmSp 5.64

NE,

If

he

a "light rider" or "rides light," he does not "gimlet" or

is

make its back sore, as does the "hard rider." 1 96 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 3, Some saddles don't fit the hoss they're "beefsteak" the horse,

1 1

on, and cause sores,

.

.

and the hoss

is

.

.

"beefsteaked."

beefsteak eye n Also beefer, beef-eye putting a raw beefsteak on a black eye]

practice of

DARE

.

.

beefsteak fungus n Also bee/heart mushroom, beefsteak ~ beeftongue [See quot 1972; OEDS 1886

—

edible fungus (Fistulina hepatica).

1908 Hard Mushroom Edible 387, It [Fistulina hepatica] is known Beefsteak Fungus. 1948 Boyce Forest Pathology 426, Fistulina

as

.

.

hepatica. the beefsteak fungus, causes a brown cubical rot. [Ibid 427, The soft red juicy flesh, which is variegated with brighter streaks, exudes beefsteak a red bloodlike juice when broken.] 1961 W3, Beeftongue fungus. 1965-70 (Qu. 137) Inf 18, Beefsteak mushroom, large, safe to eat; (Qu. S 1 8) Inf IN3 1 Beefsteak; MI92, Beefsteak, [pick] .

,

.

.

OK

DARE

,

while

still

firm;

blolly (here:

MI 120,

OH33,

Beefsteak, fluffy, large, red;

Beefheart

mushroom; (Qu. S19) Inf NJ58, Beefsteak mushroom. 1972 Miller Mushrooms 180, Fistulina hepatica "Beefsteak Fungus" The texture of beef and the oozing red juice give it its name. It is a good edible .

.

.

.

.

.

and sought by many mushroom hunters.

beefsteak geranium See beefsteak plant 3 beefsteak leaf See beefsteak plant

beeftree

Guapira

.

.

.

1

beefsteak plant n 1 also beefsteak leaf: An introduced, coarse, often weedy, annual plant (Perillafrutescens) now found in much of the eastern half of the U.S. [See quot 1 948] 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 180, PferillaJ frutescens Beefsteakplant. 1940 Clute A mer. Plant Names 227, Perillafrutescens. Beefsteak plant. 1948 Wherry Wild Flower Guide 168, Beefsteak-leaf (Perilla 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Fla. incl. Fla.

Keys,

n.

on

e.

chiefly Sth,

coast to

.

.

Cape Canaveral.

S Midi

A

hollow tree or log used as a beehive. See Map 1817 in 1929 Weems Mason Locke Weems 3.215 MD, To be round & round the circumference of a Bee-gum like a Dog in run chase of his tail, is enough to try the patience often Jobs. 1888 Warner On Horseback 92 NC, Big Tom was always on the alert to discover and mark a bee-gum. 1923 DN 5.233 swWI, Bee-gum ... A piece of a tree, generally of the trunk, hollowed out and set up to serve as a bee-hive. 1926 Roberts Time of Man 130 KY, Erastus found a bee-gum tree and robbed the wild bees of their fruit. 1941 Stuart Men ofMis. 230 neKY, "You ain't no man," says Big Aaron, "if you can't carry a bee gum loaded with honey and bees." My bee gum is a cut of a hollow log with boards nailed on the top and bottom. It is black gum and it is heavy "I've got the heaviest bee gum of all you. I got a cut from a hollow beech-log." 1944 PADS 2.26 cwOH, wNC, Bee-gum ... A sawed-off portion of the hollow trunk of a tree (frequently the gum) used as a beehive. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. R 9b, The place where wild bees live and store their honey) 37 Infs. chiefly Sth, S Midi, Bee gum; MS6. Bee gum on tree. la

.

.

.

.

1

Any beehive. See Map 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Bee-gum. In the South and West, a term originally applied to a species of the gum-tree from which beehives were made; and now to beehives made of any kind of boards. 1903 DN 2.306 seMO, Bee-gum Bee hive. This name is derived from the custom of using the section of a hollow gum tree, but is applied to other kinds of hives, as 'patent gum,' that is a modern, patented hive. 1904 DN 2.416 nwAR. 1908 DN 3.289 eAL, wGA, Bee-gum ... Bee hive: used originally of a hollow gum tree, but now of any bee hive. "I got half a dozen pattent [sic] bee-gums when I was in Opelika." 1911 DN 3.537 eKY. 1912 DN 3.571 wIN, Bee-gum ... A plain, box-like bee-hive. The term is not generally applied to the more pretentious, manufactured hives. 1 965 - 70 DARE (Qu. R 9a, The place where bees live and store their honey tame bees) 44 Infs. chiefly Sth, S Midi, Bee gum. b

.

beefsteak mushroom See beefsteak fungus

discolor).

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 192, Pisonia obtusata Common Names Beef Wood (Fla.). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 293. 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 141, Guapira discolor Other common names beeftree, beefwood, porkwood. pigeonwood Coast of s.

.

WELS (A

black eye) 2 Infs, c,csWI, Beefsteak eye. 1954 Harder 1967-70 (Qu. X20, A Coll. cwTN, Beef-eye— a black eye. black eye) Infs KS5, OH72, Beefsteak eye; KY89, Beefer.

An

A

bee gum n

[From the

A black eye. 1950

beefwood n Also

bee gum

/

.

.

1

—

The name of this old-fashioned garden plant refers to the resemblance of the leaf color to raw beefsteak. 1970 Correll Plants TX

frutescens)

.

.

1376, Perillafrutescens

.

.

Beefsteak plant.

A

lousewort (here: Pedicularis canadensis). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 278, PfedicularisJ Canadensis Beefsteak plant. 1912 Mathews Amer. Wild Flowers 432, Beefsteak Plant Pedicularis Canadensis. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 3 1 2

.

.

.

.

3 also beefsteak, beefsteak geranium: A saxifrage (here: Saxifraga sarmentosa). 1822 Eaton Botany 449, Saxifraga sarmentosa (beef-steak ). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 336, Sfaxifraga] sarmentosa Beefsteak Gera.

.

nium.

1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

9,

.

.

Beefsteak Plant:

.

.

Saxi-

fraga sarmentosa.

beef-suet tree n [See quot 1942] A buffalo berry (here: Shepherdia argentea). 1889 Century Diet., Beefsuet-tree The buffalo-berry, Lepargyrea argentea. Wied 1942 Torreya 42.163, Lepargyrxa argentea .

.

.

.

2 Transf: a man's hat with a high crown.

beeftongue See beefsteak fungus

1880 Harris Uncle Remus Songs 230 GA, One er deze yer slick-lookin' wid a bee-gum hat an' a brass watch ez big ez de head uv a beer bar'l, come 'long an' bresh up agin me. 1 904 DN2A 6 nwAR, Bee-gum hat Silk hat. 'You must wear a bee-gum hat at the laying of the corner-stone' (addressed to the worshipful master of a Masonic blue lodge). 1929 Dobie Vaquero 185, Over in England. Buffalo Bill said. Tom would retire to his dressing room after the performance was over. take off his cowboy clothes, emerge in attire of the latest fashion, including a beegum hat. and then mingle with admiring nobility. 1939 FWP Guide NC 505 cwNC, In this section any high hat is called a "beaver," or, in derision, a "bee gum."

beef to the heel(s) adj phr

3 See quot.

wrote "Graines de boeuf," considering "graisse de boeuf" an error; he was mistaken, however, as the name "beef-suet tree" indicates. 1949 Brown Amer. Cooks 502 MT, There's a buffalo berry also called rabbitberry and bullberry and picked from what's sometimes called a .

.

.

.

beef-suet tree.

beef tea n

— The old-timer's name — usually green, stagnant, and

1944 Adams Western Words, Beef lea shallow water in which cattle had stood full of urine.

Of a

for

person: massive, bulky. 1958 VTHist. ns 26.274, Built like a Mulinger heifer, beef to the heels. 1967 DARE(Q\x. X37, Words to describe people's legs) Infs NY1, 31, Beef to the heel. .

.

.

.

niggers,

1

.

.

.

DARE

1967 (Qu. X3, bunch, you call this a

4

A

black

gum

When

(here:

woman puts her hair up on

a )

Nyssa

Inf TNI. Bee gum. sylvatica).

her head in a

a

beehive cactus

.

.

Pepperridge

202

SW 802. Nyssa

1960 Vines Trees are

bees

/

[sic],

Bee

.

.

.

sylvatica

.

Gum, and Sour Gum

.

.

Vernacular names .

The

flowers serve

as bee food.

barrel cactus (here: Echinocactus johnsonii).

1941 Jaeger Wildflowers 168 Desert cactus Johnsonii octocentrus.

bee

killer

See bee catcher

SW,

Beehive Cactus

.

.

.

Echino-

LANE

tree

Map

.

.

Gt Lakes See

Map

scattered

.

1 .

.

.

LALM

.

—

Bee martin; (Qu. Qll) Inf GA72, Bee martin; (Qu. Q20) GA89, KY86, VA40. Bee martin. 2 =bank swallow 1. riparia.

Infs

— Sand

AR56.

swallow or

Hickman K[entuck]y.

1940

Haun Hawk's Done Gone

75 eTN, He said he was sure heaven as a bee martin to its gourd. Audubon Soc. Bulletin 40.84, Purple Martin. Bee Martin

1968

in

Pairlee's spirit flew as straight to

MA

1956

(Maine.

It

occasionally eats honeybees).

bee myrtle n Prob =bee brush. 1956 Gipson Old Yeller 76 TX, dense thicket of bee myrtle.

I

finally

came

across her. holed

up

in a

been See be A2 chiefly

throughout NEng, The 1965-70 DARE (Qu. CC8. Other Devil ['belzabAb], [,bi'elztb\b]. names for the devil) 33 Infs, chiefly Gt Lakes, Beelzebub; (Qu. EE4 A hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave) Inf ") Inf OH82. Beelzebub; (Qu. HH22b, "He's meaner than MA58, Beelzebub. 1973 Allen .384 ceNE, cSD, Devil ... [2 infs:l Beelzebub.

532

.

3 =purple martin.

S Midi

1]

Beelzebub n Pronc-sp Belzibub 1 The devil; a devil or hobgoblin, 1943

.

1917 Wilson Bulletin 29.2.84. Riparia

See quots. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 226 Ozarks, Beeler ... A wooden maul used in splitting rails. The beeler is just a big mallet, distinguished from the mankiller maul which is made in one piece like a huge club. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Beeler ... A wooden wedge used to split up boards or slats. 1981 Broaddus Coll. ceKY (as of 1958). Beeler— wooden maul for splitting rails.

bee linden See bee

.

martin, bee-martin,

1

beeler n [Prob var of beater

.

known

DARE

beehive cactus n [From the shape]

A

Betty Bee Martin. Bee Martin, Billy Bee This bird, to the local inhabitants as the Bee Martin, arrives about April 11. '1917 Wilson Bulletin 29.282, Tyrannus tyrannus. Betty martin [VA]. 1965-70 (Qu. Q14) 79 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, tyrannus,

better

1

beent See be Cla

bee plant n

A spider flower, esp the Rocky Mountain bee plant. West 1898 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 11.223, Cleome integrifolia Bee-plant, Colorado]. 1963 Craighead Rocky Mt. Wildflowers 69, Yellow Beeplant (C lutea has yellow instead of pink flowers. 1976 Dodge ) Roadside Wildflowers 15. Beeplant is also called stinkweed in some 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

localities.

2 Either of two figworts, esp Scrophularia californica but also S. mahlandica. Cf California bee plant 1911 Century Diet. Suppl, Bee-plant The name has been applied .

.

.

Marylandica and to S. Californica. 1954 Parks Pt. Lobos Wild Flowers 35, Scrophularia

specifically to Scrophularia

CA

Div. Beaches

californica

.

.

.

&

Coast Figwort (Bee Plant).

3 =butterfly weed 2. 1951 PADS 15.37 TX, Gaura

— Wild honeysuckles; bee

spp.

plants.

beer n chiefly sAppalachians 1 Fermented mash used as an alcoholic drink or put through a still to make moonshine. Cfbuckn 4 1887 1967) Harris Free Joe 105 GA, The way I do my countin', one tub of beer is natchally wuth two revenue chaps. 1917 £>A 4.408 wNC, KY. (

r

1933 Rawlings South Moon 92 cFL, Zeke dipped a gourd in one of the barrels of seething mash. "You want some o' the beer, Lulu?" 1940 Hall Coll. wNC, eTN, Beer still beer, corn that's fermented cooked meal beer. 1956 Ibid, Jake was makin' liquor. Zeke was stealin' it, carryin' his beer off and all such stuff. Zeke was drunk. 1968 DARE Tape NC54, Then you take and pour your beer in there that there's what you make your whiskey out of. the beer is. You take that corn and your sugar, and it works off and makes a beer. And then you put the beer in your still; GA2 A. It's a beer before you make the whiskey out of it. 1972 Foxfire Book 3 6 nG A, Beer the fermented liquid made from corn meal bases which, when cooked in the still, produces the moonshine. 1974 Maurer KY Moonshine 1 14 KY, Beer Fermented mash, either grain or sugar. "That beer's working off good." Also called "still-beer."

—

—

2 See quot.

1940-41 Cassidy WI Atlas swWI, Belzibub— Child born out of wedlock.

bee martin n

.

.

.

1

1

also betty (bee) martin: =kingbird.

Map Cf bee

bird

1, billy

chiefly Sth,

S Midi See

martin, buddy bee martin

1805 (1904) Lewis Orig. Jrls. Lewis & Clark Exped. 2.141, The bee martin or kingbird is common to this country. 1908 D.X 3.290 eAL, wGA, Bee-martin King-bird. 1913 Bailey Birds VA 176, Tyrannus .

.

.

—

1

.

.

.

2 See quot.

1972 Hilliard

Hog Meat

90 Sth, Occasionally used for persimmon

wine, locally called "beer."

beer blast See

blast

n3

beer keg See keg B beer seed n, also See quot 1969.

attrib

See also California beer

—

1969 DARE File eKY, Beer seed an effervescent, nonalcoholic drink; used to be made out of beer seed, molasses, and other stuff. 1970 DARE Fermented drinks made at home) Inf KY84, Beer(Qu. DD28b, seed beer, nonalcoholic. .

.

.

.

beer yeast n Pronc-sp beer east Kinds of yeast) Inf IN23, Beer east1967-69 DARE (Qu. H17, made with cornmeal and hops; IN54, Used to use beer east; MI95, Beer .

[yeast]

•bee martin

1

(Qq. Q14, Q11, Q20)

— same as yeast

bees See be Big

starter;

.

MAI,

Beer yeast.

bee sage

203

bee sage n [From 1

beet bird n [See quots 1931, 1956]

use as a honey plant]

its

=desert lavender.

Bee-Sage. 1925 Jepson Manual Plants CA 879, HfyptisJ emoryi 1938 Van Dersal Native Woody Plants 325, Bee-sage (Hyptis emoryi). Deserts 212, Desert lavender often is 1981 Benson - Darrow Trees called bee sage because of its value as a honey plant. .

.

.

SW

2 also white bee sage:

A

.

.

.

.

California.

.

Sep. 5/4 (DA), We used to wonder why old folks of early days called the wild canary the 'beet bird' until this summer they eat our beet tops. 1956 Audubon 40.254, Goldfinch. Beet Bird (N.H. From feeding on the seeds of that plant.).

beet greens n

The

pi chiefly

Nth, scattered West

Map

See

and stems of garden beets usu served boiled. 1896 (c 973) Farmer Orig. Cook Book 263 Boston MA, Hothouse beet greens and dandelions appear in market the first of March, when they edible leaves 1

command

beeslings See beaslings

bee's nest plant n Also bee's nest (seed)

A wild carrot (here:

Daucus

a high price. Those grown out of doors are in season from middle of May to first of July. Boiled Beet Greens. 1938 Damon Grandma 277 NEng, I found in the buttery a platter of cold beet greens. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. I28b, Greens that are cooked) 123 Infs, chiefly Nth, scattered West, Beet greens; (Qu. I28a, Kinds of. "greens" eaten raw) 14 Infs, chiefly Nth, Beet greens. .

Daucus

carota).

.

.

1873 in 1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 148, Daucus carota. Bee's Nest Seed. Queen Anne's Lace. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 10, Beesnest plant, Wild 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 257, Daucus carrot, Daucus carota. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 9, Bee's carota. Bee's-nest plant. Nest:

.

.

.

.

.

SW

.

=goldfinch. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 3.13, Astragalinus tristis tristis Other Names Beet Bird. 1931 Randolph Enterprise (Elkins, W. Va.) 24

MA

white sage (here: Salvia apiana).

known as bee 1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101.141, White sage sage, greasewood, and white bee sage, is a white-leaved, white-flowered common and widespread at low elevations in southern Califorshrub Deserts 209, Bee Sage, White 1981 Benson-Darrow Trees nia. This is one of the most important honey plants of southern Sage .

beetlehead

/

.

.

.

.

carota.

bee spiderflower n

=Rocky Mountain

bee plant. Wild Flowers 121, Cleome serrulata

KS

Bee SpiderThe first part of the common name is appropriate because the 'Spiderflower' seems to flowers are noted for their yield of honey come from a resemblance between the spreading slender stamens and sprawling spider legs. 1976 Dodge Roadside Wildflowers 15 SW, Bee 1948 Stevens

flower

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

spiderflower keepers.

.

.

is

.

.

.

.

1953 Randolph

.

considered a valuable source of nectar by bee-

bees swarm phr For

A baby is born;

.

varr, see

quots

S Midi euphem

see quots 1953, 1960 (Hall).

Down

Holler 114 Ozarks, At Granby, Missouri,

in

when a man's wife was about to be delivered of a child, a friend said to the husband, "Well, Tom, it looks like your bees are a-swarmin'" 1960 Campbell Birth ofNatl. Park 99 eTN, Well, the bees swarmed ten times

my

house, and your pappy [=a well-known doctor] was there every time. 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 65, "Watchin' his bees" or "waitin' for his bees to swarm" are euphemisms for expecting a baby: "John, at

when are your bees going to swarm?" 1972 Courier-Jrl. 4

May A 12,

swarm of

A hive

KY)

a night

[i.e.,

that his

I

n

thistle (here:

.

chiefly

.

S Midi Cf bee gum

.

.

of bees. .

.

.

1900 Lyons Plant

Gum,

.

Names

262,

N.

sylvatica

beetlehead n in

member.

or responsibilities.

[Joe alter of busi-

ness]

1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 253.9, None of your busiNone of your biz! or beeswax! 1950 WELS Inf, cwWI, None of your beeswax. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 1122, Expressions to tell somebody to keep to himself and mind his own business) 29 Infs, scattered, Mind your own beeswax; NC37, Keep your nose out of my beeswax; IA34, Tend to your own beeswax; (Qu. NN 2b, Things that people say to put offa child when he asks, "What are you making 9 ')lr\{PA93, None of your beeswax. 1

.

1

2 See quot.

.

Tupelo,

Black

[beetle a mallet]

1

877 Ticknor Life & Letters 1 .386 Cape Cod MA, Mr. Webster all day, and brought home a fine quantity of

1839

and other things whose names

MA

Zool.

&

Folks 52 eTN, wNC, If a widower said "beeswax" to a widow whom he had been "sparkin'," he was proposing marriage. If she wished to marry him, she answered, "sticks."

See bee from bull's foot,

~

I

do not

Bot. Surv. Fishes Reptiles 361,

re-

The

beetle-headed plovers Toward the last of September collect in great flocks, preparatory to their migration. 1844 Giraud Birds Long Is. 2 1 2, The Black-bellied Plover ... In the month of August it returns with its young, which is so different in plumage that by many it is considered a distinct species, being called "Bull or Beatle-headed [sic] Plover." 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 191, [Black-bellied Plover] In Maine at Bath, Portland, and Pine Point, at Portsmouth, N.H., in Massachusetts at Ipswich, Salem, North Scituate, Provincetown, West Barnstable. Chatham, and New Bedford, at Stratford, Conn., and Shinnecock Bay, L.I., Beetle-head: at Eastville, Va., Beetle simply 1892 Auk 9. 144, The young birds, commonly called Beetle-heads, Chuckle-heads, or Bullheads, have the entire upper parts brownish gray-black covered with irregular spots of white and pale yellow. 1918 Grinnell Game Birds CA Beetle-head by reason 454, In California and elsewhere it is known as of the large size of its head. 1955 Audubon 39.445, Black-bellied Plover. Beetle (Maine); Beetle-head (Maine, N.H., Mass., Conn., R.I.): Beetle-head Plover (Mass. Large head.). 1969 (Qu. Water birds and marsh birds) Inf MA57, Beetlehead. Q10, .

.

.

.

.

Smoky Mt.

know

.

also beetlehead(ed) plover, beetle: =black-bellied plover.

.

not to

.

SW

Beetle-bung.

beetle-heads, curlews,

Q20) Inf NY32, Bee swallow.

bull foot,

.

1

1960 Vines Trees 802, Vernacular names are Swamp-hornbeam, Yellow Gum, Snag-tree, Beetle-bung. .

1828

Prob =purple martin.

beeswax from

.

.

has been out shooting

bee swallow n Cf bee martin 3

1960 Hall

.

beetlebung n [Etym unknown] A black gum 1 (here: Nyssa sylvatica).

.

beestlings See beaslings

DARE (Qu.

.

NW

1

beeswax n 1 One's own concerns

.

.

beetle See beetlehead

.

.

articulatum).

1

.

ness!

Eryngium

BeeJepson Manual Plants CA 694, E. articulatum Herbage with a strong disagreeable odor. 1949 Moldenke thistle may be looked for in river Amer. Wild Flowers 148, The beethistle marshes and wet meadows from Idaho and Oregon south into Califor325. nia. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific

1925

o'clock.

1882 Harper's Mag. 65. 968/1, He ran right over a bee stand and was stung in thirty places. 1949 AmSp 24.106 nGA, Bee-stand Beehive. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. R19a, The place where bees live and store their honey— tame bees) Infs GA72, KY9, TNI, 1 1, Bee stand. 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 87 sAppalachians, Pappy went out and robbed his bee stand and got a gallon uv honey.

1967

thistle

A coyote

.

was afeared that the bees would wife would deliver a child] and sure

Hit was February, and

enough the bees swarmed about nine

bee stand n

(Louisville

bee

.

MA

DARE

.

.

— beetlehead(ed) plover

before-dark

/

2 =scoter. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular

Names

nacular

.

.

.

American Scoter

13.28,

.

— Beetlehead (N.Y.).

In local use.

beetlehead(ed) plover See beetlehead

beetleweed n Also

204

beetle plant

.

Ver-

.

1

S Midi

chiefly

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

beetling block n Also sp beteling ~ [beetle to beat (fabric) with a heavy wooden bat or pestle] Cf battle v 1, battling stick old-fash

A

block of wood on which to beat clothes while washing. 1966 Good Old Days Jan 34 wNC (as of c 900), She had a big block of wood settin' on its end about two feet high she called her beteling block. She'd wet the clothes and lay them over on the block and beat them with a blatching stick. It was sorta like a baseball bat. 1

bee tree n Also bee basswood, bee (tree) linden

[See quot 1950]

=linden (esp Tilia americana and T. heterophylla). 1890 Newhall Trees NEast Amer. 22, Bee Tree. TfiliaJ Americana. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 301, Tilia americana Common .

.

Beetree (Vt.,

.

W.

Va., Wis.).

1903 Small Flora

WV

.

SE U.S.

760,

1941 FWP Guide linden is called 18, The the 'bee tree' because of the swarms of bees that seek its nectar. 1950 Peattie Nat. Hist. Trees 488, Other Names: Beetree Yet, if you happen to be tramping abroad at that season, the haunting odor may waft down wind to you, or you may hear the roar of the nectar-mad bees 1960 Vines Trees It has at its flowers. 733, Tilia americana many vernacular names such as Bee-tree The flowers are valuable Vernacular names Bee for bee pasture. Ibid 734, Tilia caroliniana Basswood BeeTilia floridiana Other names are Bee Linden tree Linden Tilia heterophylla. .

.

Bee-tree.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

SW

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

pigweed

1898

1

(here:

Amer.

Jrl.

Amaranthus

Folkl.

11.277,

Beet-root ...

A

bad weed

retroflexus).

Amaranthus

retroflexus,

.

.

red-root,

1910 Graves Flowering Plants 69 CT,

beet-root, careless weed, Kans.

1

in cultivated ground.

beet tops n pi widespread, but least freq Sth, S Midi See Map =beet greens. 1960 PADS 34.48 CO, Beet tops, beet greens 'greens, salad.' cl960 csKY, Beet tops used for greens; also to wilt and put on Greens that and boils. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. I28b, are cooked) 1 74 Infs, widespread, but least freq Sth, S Midi, Beet tops; Kinds of. "greens" (Qu. I28a, eaten raw) Infs AL6, FL19, MI69, NJ21, NY83, TX17, Beet tops. Wilson

eUS

.

.

Blue Devil, stick-weed,

.

Common

Coll.

.

.

sprains, bruises,

.

.

.

.

.

Plants 95,

The

.

.

.

2

.

.

.

a

Any of var other bee plants as: =Rocky Mountain bee plant.

1911 Century Diet. Suppi, The Rocky Mountain bee-plant (also called bee-weed) is one of the spider-flowers, Cleome serrulata.

b A milkweed (here: Asclepias subverticillata). 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. W29, Horsetail milkweed

known among those

[Asclepias subverticillata], also

ous perennial herb, ranks

.

.

locally as

beeweed, a poison-

plants most deadly to range

livestock.

c

=wild carrot.

1966

DARE (Qu.

S6, Other

names around here for Queen Anne's

InfNM13A, Beeweed. d =white sweetclover. 1967 DARE (QR p57) Inf COl

1,

Beeweed— sweet

lace)

clover or a large

white flower.

bee wine n

[bee n

1

1]

See quots. 1914 Hartford Times (CT)

1

7

Apr

8/6,

1

would

like to ask

.

.

readers of

your paper if they have ever heard of the California bee. These bees are of a very peculiar species, being somewhat like a soft white sponge, and if put into a common ordinary Mason jar with sugar, water and molasses will in the course of a week make bee wine. 1968 DARE(Q\i. DD28b, What fermented drinks are made at home around here?) Inf NJ35, Bee wine: rice and sugar and water.

beewort n [bee, because it is attractive to bees, + wort plant] =sweet flag. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 13, A. Calamus Beewort Aromatic. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 65, Beewort The part most used is .

.

the rhizome

.

.

and

as well as the sweet

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

fragrant stem of

young

leaves.

.

.

beetroot n [From the red stem]

A

,

bee-weed (Aster cordifolius), and the bee balms derive their names from the fact that bees favor them. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 75, Heart-leaved aster Bee-weed.

.

.

Tilia

1

.

.

.

.

aster (Aster cordifolius)

Folkl. 7.9

.

.

Names

bee weed n 1 The blue wood

Aster cordifolius bee-weed, Fall Aster, West Va. 1931 Clute

1861 Wood Class-Book 495, Galax Beetle-weed Damp, mountain woods, Md. to Tenn. and S. Car. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 402, Beetle- Weed Galax aphylla ... In the mountainous parts of North Carolina I saw them spreading over acres. 1915 Torreya 15.18GA, One of the popular names of the species, "beetle plant" suggests the inquiry whether its odor may not possess attractions for some beetle whose visits might be in some way beneficial to the plant. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 378, Beetle Weed The leaves are broadly heart-shaped. 1952 Taylor Plants Colonial Days 43 VA, Known also as beetleweed and colt's foot galax flowers in May. .

A

1894 Jrl. Amer.

=galax.

.

beeve(s) See beef

beezer n [Perh blend of beak and sneezer] One's nose. 1915 C.E. Van Loan in Grayson New Stories for Men (1941) 550 (OEDS), Perhaps it should be explained that, in the patois of the [boxing] the nose becomes a beezer. 1920 Ade Handmade Fables profession 12 IN, One brilliant Man about Town, with a Beezer that never could have been coloured by the use of Malted Milk. 1929 ,4wSp4. 338 [Hobo jargon], Beezer The nose. 1932 AmSp 7.329 [Johns Hopkins University jargon], Beezer nose. 1956 Sun (Baltimore MD) 30 Nov ed. B 28/2 (Hench Coll.), These are the main differences between Archie Moore and Floyd Patterson as they start poking each other in the beezer 1965-70 DARE (Qu. tonight [in a professional boxing match]. XI 4, The nose) Infs CA201,CT27,FL1 5, IN39,WI47, Beezer. 1980 nose; slang. in 1982 Barrick Coll. sePA, Beezer 1

.

.

—

.

—

.

2 Transf: the head, the mouth.

1932 AmSp 7.400 WA, Beezer Head, forehead. A visiting psycholan orphans' home] with a peculiar growth on his forehead was known as "The brainy old bozo with a bump on his beezer." 1968-69 DARE(Q\x. X9, Joking or uncomplimentary words for a person 's mouth) Inf MA58, Beezer; (Qu. X28, Joking words .for a person's head) Inf .

.

.

ogist [in

.

MO 10, Beezer. beezer-weezer n Prob a cicada. 1970

DARE (Qu.

and make a

R7, Insects that sit in trees or bushes in hot weather buzzing sound) Inf IL143, Beezer-weezers

sharp,

['biza^'wiza1 ].

beezlings See beaslings

beezlums n 1897

KS

pi [Alter

of beaslings] KS, Beezlums: cake from

Univ. Qrly. 6.51

first

milk of fresh

cow.

before-dark n Cf before-day Dusk, twilight. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. A4, The time of day when

the sun goes out of

.

before-day

205

szg/j/)InfPA220, Before-dark; (Qu. A5, The time right after the sun goes out of sight, before it becomes all dark) Infs AR6, GA30, IA8, KY26,

LA43, NC37, Before-dark. n, also attrib

day, fore-day Black speakers Cf DJE The time just prior to sunrise.

DN

1896

Stingy.

1967 DARE (Qu. U33, A stingy person) Inf WA20, Beggarly; (Qu. U35, Words meaning thrifty but not in a complimentary way: "She's not ") Inf WA20, Beggarly. a bad housekeeper, but very

.

.

before day'

.

dawn) are commonly employed

(i.e.

.

.

.

Morning is the

time 'before day,' or early rising time. 1927 Adams Congaree 76 cSC "Yes, Aunt Rhody, I been up since [Black], "You up soon, Bubber," fo' day." 1942 (1965) Parrish Slave Songs 62 eGA, I am told that this shout was once a favorite at "foreday meetin'," held on Sunday in the Thetimein neighborhood of five o'clock. 1965-70 DARE(Q\x.A\, the early morning before the sun comes into sight) 30 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, 11 Black, Before-day; TN11, Afore-day [3'for.dei]; (Qu. The time early in the morning and at night when you have tofeed L4b, livestock, clean stalls, and so on) Inf OK52, Before-day. 1975 McDonough Garden Sass 297 AR, They went to church 'fore day in the morning they had a 'fore-day service. They'd leave home about four o'clock in the morning and they'd go to church and stay till day. .

.

.

See beggar's

lice

lice

=tick 1966

trefoil or the

loments thereof.

DARE (Qu.

5,

Beggar

SI

.

Weed

.

or beggar patches

lice

—

seeds that cling to clothing) Inf round, flat, green seeds.

NCI,

little

beggar's basket n [Prob from the shape of the flower head]

A wild carrot

(here:

Daucus

carota).

1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

Beggar's Basket: Daucus carota.

9,

.

.

.

.

beggar patches n Cf poor man's patches

.

r

sunrise. 'just

beggarman's

Fore-day the period of time immediately before iong before day' and 1902 Z)A 2.233sIL, For early morning 1.417,

lice

beggarly adj .

Pronc-sp afore-day, aphet forms fo'chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map espfreq among

before-day

beggar's

/

—

beggar's blanket n [From the furry =mullein. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

Cf blanket

leaves]

leaf

Beggar's Blanket: Verbascum

9,

thapsus.

beggar's button n

=burdock 1 [Prob from the shape] Beggar's buttons. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 43, AfrctiumJ Lappa beggar' s1930 SieversAmer. Med. Plants 17, Burdock Arctium minus buttons. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 601, Other names locally applied to Burdock//! rcti um lappa] axe Cockle-bur, Stick-button, and Beggar's-button. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 1480, AfrctiumJ Beggar's-buttons. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants minus Common names: beggar's button. 58, Arctium lappa 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 =buttercup.

1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants Ranunculus (v).

lappa

.

.

10,

Beggar's Buttons: Arctium

;

beggar's lice n Also beggar('s) louse, beggar lice (weed), beggarman 's lice, beggy lice 1 =stickseed 1, esp Hackelia virginiana. 1837 Darlington Flora Cestrica 121, Virginian Echinospermum. Vulgo Nuts covered with hooked prickles. 1897 IN Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Rept. for 1896 670, Beggar's Lice. Stickseed. Sticktight Open woods, borders of thickets and fence-rows: comThe burs mon. 1950 Stevens ND Plants 235, Hackelia and Lappula

— Beggar's Lice

•before- day + var

(Qq. A1

,

L4b)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

beforetimes adv

are often called sticktights or beggar's

1960 Williams Walk Egypt 107 GA, Yet bloom; they came along in April.

it

was before-times

for such to

floribundaj.

Hackelia bristles

beg v Usu

[beg]; often, chiefly in Sth, esp

occas [baeg]

[be(i)g];

among Black speakers,

Pronc-spp bague, baig Cf egg n

A

.

.

.

.

.

leg [etc].

A

.

Stickseed, Beggar's-lice

.

on the margins and

2 =tick

toady, apple-polisher.

(Qu. II20a, A person who tries too hard to gain ") Infs IN49, M037, else's favor: "He's an awful Beggar; (Qu. JJ3b, When a school child makes a special effort to "get in good" with the teacher in hopes ofgetting a better grade: "She's an awful ") Inf IL48, Beggar.

(Qu. H71,

.

.

The

last

piece of food

left

on a plate) Inf

PA221, The beggar.

1969

1

DARE (Qu.

Beggar burrs

beggar

lice

—

S

flat,

1

5,

.

.

Weed seeds

that cling to clothing) Inf

three-cornered.

(weed), beggar louse See beggar's

KY40,

.

.

.

.

.

1

1

.

.

.

.

.

2 Inf

LA2

1

Beggar's

,

.

—

lice.

3 =beggar ticks 1. 1873 in 1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 163, Cuckold Bidens frondosa Beggar Lice Seeds are also used as an expectorant in throat irritation. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 63. 1909 DN3A2 Cape Cod MA, Beggar-lice. Fork-shaped seeds of a weed that sticks to clothes. 1913 DN4.3ME, Beggar lice The seeds of an annoying weed that clings to clothing. These are elsewhere called sticktights or pitchforks. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. SI 4, Prickly seeds, small andflat, with two prongs at one end, that cling to clothing) 260 Infs, widespread exc Inland Nth, West, Beggarfs) lice; FL48, Beggar lice weed; MS86. Beggar's louse; NY21 1, Beggarman's lice; SC36A. Beggar lice. 1971 GA Dept. Ag. Farmers Market Bulletin 20 Jan 8/1, Beggar-tick (often called bur-marigold, .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

stick-tight, beggar-lice, boot-jack, or

lice

535,

angles.

.

.

beggar burr n =beggar ticks

Third

armed with barbed

Bartlett

.

DARE

1969

Hortus Nutlets

.

Americanisms 27, Desmodium is sometimes 1885 in 1944 Harper Weeds AL 136, There is a forage plant now rapidly coming into popularity and known as Beggars Lice. It belongs to the genus Desmodium. 1893 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 6.149, Desmodium Canadense, beggar's lice. Concord, Mass. 1953 Greene -Blomquist Flowers South 62, Beggar 's-Ticks, BeggarLouse, Tick-Trefoils (Desmodium) Among the assortment of various fruits that stick to your clothing the most common are the joints of the fruits (loments) of Desmodium. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Beggar lice The sticky seeds on a common weed, a member of the bean family. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. SI 3, ..A common wild bush with bunches of round, prickly seeds [that] stick to your clothing) 22 Infs, flat, fuzzy scattered, but esp N Midi, Beggarfs) lice; AR55. Beggy lice bean-like seeds. 1966 DARE Wildfl QR Pl.l 1 1 Inf AR46, Beggar louse;

.

2 See quot.

.

called Beggar-Lice.

PI.

DARE

.

.

trefoil.

.

beggar n 1968-69 somebody

.

1859 (1968)

Std sense, var forms. 1888 Jones Negro Myths 36 GA coast, Wen eh bin er eat de bread, Buh Tiger come long an bague um fuh some. 1894 Chopin Bayou Folk 295 LA [Black], An' he say he baig my pardon fo' his intrudement. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 288 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Baig. 1934 AmSp 9.21 1 Sth, Some words with standard [e] before [g] or [k] change [e] to [ei] or [e]. This pronunciation is decidedly vulgar Beg, have [e] consistegg [etc.]. 1936 AmSp 11.15 eTX, Beg and dregs ently. 1941 AmSp 16.5 eTX [Black], Beg, peg, are [be:g], [beig], [pe:g], [peig]. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 20, [ae] is common also in beg, keg,

1

1966 DARE Wildfl QR Inf 1976 Bailey- Bailey

other burs.

Early.

.

names applied to various C07, Beggar's lice (Hackelia

lice,

genus Bidens, somewhat weedy herbs.

Spanish needles)

is

of the large

.

beggar's needles

beggarweed

/

4 =hounA 4.388 neOH, Bell-bird Wood thrush. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 3.226, Wood Thrush Other Names Bell Bird; Swamp Robin. 1968 DARE (Qu. Ql 4, Other names around here for thrush) .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Inf NY106, Bell bird; vesper bird.

=hermit thrush. MA Audubon

allusion to

its

40.128, Hermit Thrush

ringing song.).

.

.

.

Bell Bird (Maine. In

1910 DARE (Qu. Q14) Inf PA242, Hermit

thrush: bell bird.

bell

bonnet n [From the shape] DARE (Qu. W2, A cloth bonnet worn by women for protection

1970

.

.

from the sun) Inf TX 106,

Pompano.

belike v [be-

.

1956

Perhaps. 1932 Faulkner Light in August 154 MS, You gave it to your fostermother to keep for you, belike? 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 62 nFL, sGA, Belike Manthy'll be clean bereft, we-uns havin' stayed so long on our ventures. Ibid 122, Belike come cane grindin', ye-all will have invites to Cella's pledge-troth to

.

.

2

—

1533

.

quist Flora Pacific

block, or Belgian,

.

+

Either of two bindweeds: Convolvulus arvensis or C. septum. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 115, CfonvolvulusJ arvensis .. Bellbind Bell-bind. 1949 Moldenke/lmer. Wild Flowers C. Sepium 270, It [Convolvulus arvensis] possesses scores of common names including such picturesque ones as bellbind. 1973 Hitchcock -Cron-

bell

cow n

Bell

bonnet

— old-fashioned.

Also bell ox

1 A cow or ox wearing a bell and serving as the leader of a herd. esp Sth, S Midi cl860 (1927) Hancock Narrative 3 Ozarks, The Indians finding it impossible to get near this "bell cow" endeavored to kill her. 1878 (1887) Jackson Bits of Travel 3 3 MA, It is the faint and distant tinkle of the bell-cow's bell. 1905 Watson Bethany 20 GA, I hear the "toll, tolang, toll, tolang," of the bell-cow down in the meadow by the creek. 1952 [see 2 below]. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bell-cow— One that wore the bell and thus led the herd. Old Brindle, our bell-cow. 1 967 - 70 DARE(Qu. K18) Inf VA40, Bell cow— leader; old-fash; (QR, near Qu. K18) Inf AL29, Bell cow leader who wears the bell in a group of cows. 1969 [see 2 below]. 1982 Barrick Coll. sePA, Bell cow— lead cow 1

belix n

=blixen. 1955 AmSp 30.233 cIN, Belix. In similes: coined word not seen in dictionaries. bell

n See

bell v

1 ,

bell

cold, or hot, as

belix—

—

pepper

hence vbl n belling

[OE

bellan to roar, bark, bellow]

Of a

(wearing a cowbell).

Down 176 MS, After a while they would hear the Sometimes the chase would sweep up and past quite close, belling and invisible. 1951 Giles Harbin 's Ridge 56 eKY, There was something about the stilly night, and the belling of the hounds that excited and

2 Transf: a leader; a big shot. 1896 (1898) Ade Artie 103 Chicago IL, If you can't travel with the bell-cows, why stick to the gang? 1947 Sun (Baltimore MD) 9 Aug 8/4 (Hench Coll.), Phil Marchildon, bell cow of a mound corps rated one of the best in the American League, joined the conversation. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.519 v/NC, Bell-cow The lead cow of a herd, the one that wears the bell; figuratively a leader. 1966 DARE (Qu. 7, A person who tries to appear important, or who tries to lay down the law in his community: 'He 'd like to be the around here. ) Inf MS7 Bell cow. 1 969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Bell ox Foreman. A nickname given to the camp foreman because he was to the crew what the leader or bell ox was to the herd when it was turned out to

dog: to bay. 1942 Faulkner Go

dogs.

.

.

quickened him. bell v 2 [See quot]

1952 Brown

.

Cf belling

NC Folkl.

1.238,

vbl n 2

The

first

home

they are tin pans,

—

myself.

a buzzard v phr Also bell a bull (or buzzer, [bell to attach a bell to] chiefly Mid and S Atl

bell

.

HH

night in their

"belled." A large crowd of friends get together and have bells, guns in fact, anything that will make a noise and then proceed after dark to the house. Quite often the crowd is invited in by the bride and groom, and games are played. I have helped with a number of "bellings"

—

.

1

'

—

pasture. cat,

cow, goose)

See

Map

1

belled

snake See

belltail

,

beller

bellow

/

210

WV10, Belling party. 1966 DARE File WV, A "bellin' " or a "shivaree" was a noisy serenade given a newly married couple. Bells, shotguns or any noise-making device was used. One device was a circular saw, hung from a fence rail and carried by 2 men. The noise was made by beating the saw with a hammer. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 39 Sth,

beller See bellow

them;

bellerses See bellows

Bellesnoggle See Belsnickel bell

ewe

See bell sheep

1

The bellflower n [From the shape] Std: a plant of the family

custom of greeting newly wedded persons with a noisy mock

local

celebration ... [12

Campanulaceae.

infs:] Belling. [1 inf:]

Belling bee.

Also called bluebell,

harebell

n Also cowbell frog

bell frog

A

Hyla

tree frog (here:

cinerea).

1846 Force Tracts 3.12.38 VA, Another small sort of Frog, makes a Noise like Pack-horse Bells all the Spring long.] 1791 (1958) Bartram Travels 277, The bell frog, so called because their [sic] voice is fancied to be exactly like the sound of a loud cow bell. 1942 A. A. & A.H. Wright Handbook of Frogs 136 (DA), Bell Frog Cow-bell Frog The voice is loud and at a distance sounds like a cow-bell. The individual call is quonk, quonk. 1958 Conant Reptiles & Amphibians Voice: Bell-like, and the origin of the local 279, Green Treefrog names of "bell-frog" and "cowbell frog." [1688 in .

.

.

.

.

.

bell

.

.

.

.

horse n Also

.

mare,

bell

~ mule

West

chiefly

A horse or mule wearing a bell and usu serving as leader of a pack train or herd.

•belling vbl n

1775 Adair Amer. Indians 337 Gulf States, But they used an artful strategem, for they stole one of the bell horses. 1844 (1954) Gregg Commerce 29 NM, The mules at night are all turned loose without tether or hopple, with the mulera or bell-mare, to prevent them from straying abroad ... It is the office of the madre to lead the mulera ahead, during the journey, after which the whole pack follows in orderly procession. 1853 in 1930 Brewerton Overland 4\ CA, The wily Californians ... are in the habit of employing a steady old white mare ... to act as a kind of mother and guide to each drove of unruly mules. This animal is sometimes called the "bell-mare" from a large bell which they attach to her neck. 1859 Marcy Prairie Traveler 70 West, As soon as it is discovered that the animals [=horses and mules] have taken fright, the herdsmen should use their utmost endeavors to turn them in the direction of the camp, and this can generally be accomplished by riding the bell mare in front of the herd and gradually turning her toward it. 1922 Outing 82.124/3 eCA, Old Mose, the Bell-mule. 1959 Martin Gunbarrel 36 (as of 1920s), "A bell horse. What's that?" I interrupt. "We strap bells around the necks of the horses that stray away from the herd so they can be traced by the jingle." 1970 DARE Tape CA201, They had big long pack trains of horses to carry the groceries up to these camp tents and they'd they'd pack a couple of hundred horses have one called the bell mare that they'd lead out, and all the rest of the mules and horses would follow her. 1973 Allen 1.408 swSD, Bell horse. In a string or cavy, the most amenable horse, belled, and used to guide the cavy when on the move. .

.

1

.

.

.

.

LAUM

bell

house n

See quote 1960. 1839 in 1934 Frear Lowell

&

Abigail 137

MA, Our

meeting house

is

up and the bell hung. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bell-house The small house on a church or school roof in which the large bell is housed, a belfry. 1969 DARE (Qu. CC1, On a church building the part that sticks up high) Inf KY40, Bell house. nearly finished

.

.

.

Bell .

.

house

.

=belly-flop

is

.

.

UbA-nt];

See bell v

1

MI

See

inf,

now

chiefly

576,

cwVT, .

bellity-split

1

inf,

ceMA,

[br-li

.

adv [Cf

belly- as in

At top speed. 1935 Davis Honey 284 OR, The dogs cocked whooping across bell

mare,

bell

mule See

bell

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1949 Kurath Word Geog. 62, For the loud noise cows make, especially when their calves are taken from them, New England says bellow, beller, the Midland bawl. 1960 PADS 34.70 CO, The probable importation of Northern terms along the South Platte is and amply illustrated by the spread of the expressions Dutch cheese, bellow, beller. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bellow /'beta/: v. and n. To give the sound of a bull or, rarely, of a cow, esp. when she smells blood and "bellers." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K19, Noise made by a calf that's [belo, beta], occas [belr].]

.

away from 1 1

its

.

.

•bellow +

.

mother) 9 1 Infs, widespread but least freq in Midi, but esp Nth, Bellow; MN3, Bellowing; WA18,

Infs, scattered

.

—

and went

1

.

.

.

their tails

1

.

.

split as in

bellnose (pepper) See bullnose pepper

DN

.

and

bellow n, v Usu I'belaH; also I'belo, 'beta|; occas I'baelo, 'baela^ Pronc-spp beller, belluh widespread, but least freq in Midi See Map and Map Section Cf bawl v 2 The sound a cow or calf makes, esp when distressed; to make such a sound. 1939 L4NE Map 94 throughout NEng, The map shows the verbs moo [Usu (mew), bellow used to designate the sound made by a cow

wPA, WV, OH,

.

[beh

horse

1

.

nME,

bellity-split.

it

MS

.

inf,

1.391 celA, as he starts to coast

belly-buster,

A noisy celebration or mock serenade for newlyweds; a shivaree.

'

1

LAUM

.

Map

Diary 18 July (DA), E. thought we would 1862 G.W. Wilder probably get a belling. 1878 Dly. State Jrnl. (Lincoln, Neb.) Jan. 1/3 (DA), A number of uninvited guests gave the couple a belling. 1896 1.412 nNY, nOH. 1942 McAtee Dial. Grant Co. IN NY, OH, Bell in doubtless from the lavish use of cow-bells. 1946 PADS 5.11 VA, Belling: Serenade after a wedding; in the northern part of the Blue Ridge and the central part of the Piedmont. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. Pennsylvania is 79, Belling [is used] in large parts of the Midland doubtless the original home of belling in the New World. 1949 (1958) Stuart Thread 78 cKY, I went with my pupils, their parents, and neighbors to the belling of the bride when there was a wedding. 1960 belling 'chivaree'. 1965-70 PADS 34.58 CO, Older Folk Speech DARE (Qu. AA18, A noisy celebration after a wedding, where the married couple is expected to give a treat) 6 3 Infs, chiefly wPA, WV, OH, newlyweds are serenaded to annoy IN, MI, Belling; NC62, Belling bee

tibA-mp];

1973 Allen

[be+a- ti>bAnt].

lickety-split]

Beller;

,

IN,

1

1

belling vbl n 2 also attrib [bell v 2 ]

bumper

The act of a boy's throwing himself face down downhill on a sled bellity bumper [1 inf].

taken

belling vbl n

bellity

1.

LANE Map

1943

.

WY

.

adv Also

n,

(Qu. AA18)

varr

+

.

.

.

bellity-bump

2

varr

(Qq. K19, K21)

bellows

211

1 Infs, ['baelo]; (Qu. K2 1 The noise a cow makes, calling for her calf) widespread but least freq in Midi, Beller, 7 Infs, esp Nth, Bellering; 22 Infs, esp Nth, Bellow; MN3, OH44, WI66. Bellowing: WA18, ['balo]. Bawl has 1.251, Bawl (of a calf being weaned) 1973 Allen spread widely in the U[pper] M[idwest], where it competes on even Bellow terms with bellow/beller in Minnesota and North Dakota and beller, of New England origin, exhibit a slight Northern orientaBeller: Pronounced /baela7 [by 2 infs]. Ibid 252, Low (during tion Both bawl and the Northern-oriented bellow and feeding time) beller are less favored by younger speakers than is the Northern and 1

,

LAUM

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

North Midland moo.

1

Prone

esp in Sth,

also,

S Midi,

|'betas|

.

.

—

conversation.

Pronc-spp

S Midi

(formerly also NEng), belCf -es 2

bellerses, bellowsis, bellus(s)es

Jrl. 99 KY, We put in the carsh [=cache] or & tools augur plains Saw &c. 1848 Lowell Biglow

1805 (1905) Whitehouse .

the bellowses

143 "Upcountry" MA, Bellowses, lungs. 1861 Holmes Venner 152 MA, We blowed with the belluses but nothin' could make that fire burn. 1867 Lowell Biglow 60 "Upcountry" MA, I ha'n't no patience with sech swellin' fellers ez / Think God can't forge 'thout them to blow the bellerses. 1871 ( 1 882) Stowe Fireside Stories 234 NEng, Come to drive him as a body wants to drive, why, he [=horse] blows like my 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, bellowsis. 1897 [see B below]. Bellowses ... For bellows. 1942 Hall Smoky Ml. Speech 82 wNC, eTN, /'bebsiz/, Belluses ['bebsaz]. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bellows .

.

tired."

Heard

fish n

snipefish

Macrorhamphosus

(here:

[OED

scolopax).

1684—] 1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 16.388, C. scolopax Snipe-fish; Trumpet-fish; Bellows-fish. 1896 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 47.759, Macrorhamphosus scolopax Bellows-fish North Atlantic Coast. 1911 [see 2 below]. .

.

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

of the family Tetraodontidae. See also puffer 846 MA Hist. Soc. Coll. 2d ser 3.55, The pufffish, or swell or bellows fish, is a cartilaginous fish. It is seven inches long; and fish

1807 in

1

.

.

.

.

rare.

B As noun.

—

used in ref to a horse. [Transf from Shortness of breath bellows lungs (OED 1615 )] 1897 Barrere- Leland Slang 1 .98/2, Bellows, bellowses (American), the heaves in a horse. ["]And when old Tom Jefferson sent for me to go to Washington, I was still here with fifteen children and as a good a hoss as Uncle any man ever sid, only she was blind and had the bellusses^] Steve 's Stump Speech. 1 968 DARE (Qu. K40, The sound that a horse breath's heavy; (Qu. K48, When a makes) Inf NC49, Bellows [bebs] horse is short of breath, you say it 's ) Inf SC57, Got the bellows.

—

fish, .

its

proportions are those of a sculpion nearly. 1911 Century Diet., Bellowsfish ... 7. A local name of the trumpet-fish, Macrorhamphosus scolopax. 2. A name of sundry plectognath fishes, of the family Tetrodontidae [sic]. 3. A local name in Rhode Island of the angler, Lophius .

—

.

piscatorius.

3 =goosefish. 1814 in 1825 Lit.

common Angler.

2 PI: usu bellows; also, esp

.

A

1

—

varr. .

hole

meaning "I'm

.

Pronounced bellus. 1922 1908 DN 3.290 eAL, wGA, Bellows Gonzales Black Border 289 sSC, GA coast [Gullah glossary], Bellus— bellows (blacksmith's). cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bellows /'bebs/ common. 1967 DARE FW Addit nw\VA, Bellows ['bebs] heard in

lowses.

bellows

2

|'beloz|;

['bebst]

.

.

bellows n, v Usu Pronc-sp bellus A Forms.

GA22, "I'm bellowsed"

sheep

in conversation.

.

.

.

breathing;

bell

/

&

Philos. Soc.

He

NY

Trans. 465, Bellows-fish, or

by some the bellows-fish, from some resemblance his figure bears to a bellows, and from a power to inflate or swell himself immediately after being taken out of water. 1842 DeKay Zool. AT 3.163, Its monstrous form has given rise to many popular names, such as Bellows-fish, Angler, Goose-fish, Monk-fish. 1905 ( 1 906) NJ State Museum Annual Rept. 425. Bellows Fish This large fish is abundant on our coast. 1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. Fishes Ibid 466.

.

called

is

.

.

294. References to its lack of beauty are expressed in such popular for it as Bellowsfish and Allmouth. bell

ox See

bell

.

names

cow

pepper n Rarely bell widespread, West See Map Cf green pepper 1

but chiefly Sth,

bell

A large

.

S Midi,

sweet pepper.

1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 10, Bell pepper. Capsicum grossum. 1941 O'Donnell Great Big Doorstep 72 LA, I'd show you how to set out and lovely bell peppers. Them bell tomato plants growed in a tray peppers is only the thing to stuff and bake on a Sunday. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. I22d. Peppers large sweet) 328 Infs, widespread but chiefly Sth, S Midi, West, Bell peppers; FL19, Bells; OK32. Red bell peppers; NCI 8. Sweet bell peppers. .

.

.

,

—

.

—

—

C As verb. To become winded or short of breath; to be tired or exhausted

—

used esp of a horse; hence ppl adj bellowsed. Pronc-sp bellust [Engl dial] chiefly S Atl, Gulf States See Map 1898 Lloyd Country Life 88 AL, A third-class farmer, and a bellused and broke down politician. 1908 D A'3. 290 eAL, wGA, Bellows, v.i. and tr. To become or cause to become winded: said of a horse. Pronounced Affected with bellus, bellust, etc. 1954 PADS 2 .20 SC, Bellowsed the heaves, said of a horse. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K48, When a horse is short of breath, you say it's ) 25 Infs, chieflv S Atl, Bellowsed; GA1, Bellust; GA9, Bellust ['bebst]. 1966-68 DARE FW Addit SC, Bellowsed [bebst] when a horse gets too winded and has trouble 1

.

.

.

—

Bellschnickel See Belsnickel bell

sharp adj phr

[bell

abbr of

bell

horse

+

sharp specially

attentive]

1968

Adams

Western Words, Bell sharp

— Said of a mule that becomes

especially attached to the bell horse.

bell 1

sheep n also bell ewe:

animal of a

A

sheep wearing a

bell

and serving

as the lead

flock; a bellwether.

L4XE Map

200 sRI, Terms for a castrated male sheep were bell sheep [1 inf]. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.407 Upper MW, The male sheep that leads a flock, usually with a bell on his neck, is known by historical bellwetherin all five states. Bell sheep, perhaps an Americanism, is found principally in Iowa and Nebraska One South Dakota inf. reports that a female sheep used as 1939

incidentally recorded in a few cases

.

.

.

a flock leader

is

the bell ewe.

.

.

— Bellsnickel

belly-bumper

/

212

1940-41 Cassidy WI Atlas seWI,

2 Transf: a leader; a big shot.

l969DARE(Qu. HH17 A person who tries to appear important, orwho ,

down

tries to lay

around here.

the law in his community: "He'd like to be the

") Infs

KYI 9, M039,

To

wear the v phr Cf caps and

bells, play

Hannum

WV Mts, You cain't fault me jest

Thursday April 225

'cause Joe in his old age tuk the notion to wear the bells.

A

=belly-flop

DN

Bell-tail

—A

rattle

.

.

Adams Western

1968

Rattlesnake.

.

snake.

=belly-flop

In Connecti1888 Trumbull Names ofBirds 99, Oidemia deglandi cut at Milford (to the older gunners) Bell-Tongue Coot. 1917 (1923) Other Birds Amer. 1.150, White-winged scoter Oidemia deglandi .

.

.

[From the bell-shaped

flowers]

1.

DARE (Qu.

EE25) Inf Mil

18,

Belly-bounce; PA221, Belly-

bouncer.

belly-breaker n 1950 PADS 14.74 FL, Belly-breakers cooks

=silverbell.

The

large biscuits served

Arborescent Flora 323, MfohrodendronJ caroBell-tree Common Names Syn. Halesia Carolina (Tenn.). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 250, Bell tree. 1950 Peattie Nat. Other Names: Belltree. Bellwood. Hist. Trees 545, Halesia Carolina 1960 Vines Trees %42, Bell-tree. .

.

.

.

.

.

by

cow camps.

in

belly-bumber, belly-bumbo See belly-bumper

Sudworth

.

1

.

Bell-tongue Coot.

belltree n Also bellwood

1969-70

.

—

1897 linum

.

belly-bounce n Also belly-bouncer

=white-winged scoter.

.

adverbial expressions

meaning 'to coast down-hill lying prone on the belly-board, 'very common.' .

belly-booster See belly-buster

bell-tongue coot n

.

sled' ... [1 inf:]

swNH, The map shows

576

recorded in the phrase

4.408 wNC, 1917 Words, Belled snake

.

1.

LANE Map

1943

rattlesnake.

Names

face-

belly-board adv

n Also belled snake

belltail

— manner of sliding

belly-bluster See belly-buster 2

act the fool.

1931

Belly-bare

a sled.

belly-bender n [belly + bender 1] Cf bendy-bow and DS B35 1877 Bartlett Americanisms 39, Belly-Bender. Floating pieces of ice, or weak ice, which bend under one, as he passes from one cake to another. Boys take great pleasure in this precarious amusement.

Bell sheep.

Bellsnickel, Bellsnickle See Belsnickel bells,

down on

belly-bump

1

v

n, adv,

belluh See bellow

=belly-flop 1. chiefly NEng See Map Cf belly-bunt 1 1888 in 1971 Farmer Americanisms 51 ?Chicago IL, Barney had his sled out yesterday, belly-bumping on a little patch of ice and snow. 1 890 [see belly-bunt 1]. 1912 DN 3.566 cVT, Belly-bump. 1949 Kurath

bellus(t) See bellows

teristic

.

.

SW

1

WordGeog. bellwort n

A

plant of the genus Uvularia with bell-shaped yellow flowers. Also called hay-bells, merrybells, strawflower, wild oats. For

other

names of var spp

bell, strawlily,

1784

yellow bells Amer. Acad.

1785

in

Uvularia,

see cornflower 4,

.

.

Arts

Bellwort. Sweet-smelling

Mohawk

&

1830 Rafinesque Med. Flora 272, Uvularia

1.434,

Seal. Jacob's Ladder.

Shoots edi1910 Graves ble like Asparagus, roots edible when dry and cooked. Bellwort. Frequent to Flowering Plants 1 19 CT, Uvularia sessifolia Flowers common. 1964 Batson Wild Flowers SC 31, Bellwort Rich woods and yellowish or straw-colored, 3A in. long and drooping .

.

.

.

Bellwort

.

.

1

)

80, Belly-bump, belly-bumper(s), belly-bumping are characof coastal New England and (2) of Eastern Pennsylvania to the

Alleghanies. 1950 WELS Suppl, 1 Inf, swWI, Belly-bump— child throws himself on a sled. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Belly-bump ... A sudden falling down on a sled and starting down the hill. 1962 Morison One Boy's Boston 34 (as of 1890s), At the top of the hill you hurled yourself and sled on the snow, to coast down "belly-bump." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE25) 22 Infs, chiefly NEng, Belly-bump; MA82, Bellybumps. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 292 Sth, To coast lying down flat [20 infs:] belly bump. 1973 Allen 1.390, Coast lying down Belly-bump, found in coastal and northern New England, is offered only by infs. in Minnesota and Dubuque, Iowa. .

weed, straw

Memoirs

Sci.

Solomon's

(

.

.

.

.

LAUM

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bluffs.

bellyache root n [For

its

use against indigestion]

=angelica la. Belly-ache root. 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 192, Angelica lucida 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 10. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 35. 1971 ComKrochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 46, Angelica atropurpurea mon Names: bellyache root. .

.

.

.

bellyache

.

.

weed n Cf bellyache

root, belly

weed

A goldenrod. 1896 Paris,

Amer. Folk!. 9.193, Solidago bicolor .belly-ache weed, Belly1900 Lyons Plant Names 350, SfolidagoJ bicolor

Jrl.

.

Me.

.

.

acheweed.

belly-bacon n

Bacon from the

MD, VA, At dinner, let me that best and belly bacon see. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 274 nFL, The meat itself was dressed out into hams and shoulders, side-meat and belly-bacon. cl 770 in

1

833 Boucher Glossary 1

buck-skin dish, Broth

.

.

bellyband n Sth A band of cloth wrapped around the abdomen of an infant or a newly delivered mother. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Belly-band ... An infant's binder. 1931 VA Qrly. Rev. 7.96 LA [Black], The twins were naked, save for the flannel "bellybands" about their stomachs to ward off the

1959 Lomax Rainbow Sign 90 AL [Black], The granny woman washed me and sewed on a bellyband and gave me some catnip tea. colic.

belly-bare adv =belly-flop 1.

bump

belly-

1

+

var

(Qu. EE25)

belly of a hog.

2 =belly flop 2. 1966 DARE (Qu. EE29) Inf MI24, Belly-bump.

belly-bumper

n, adv,

v

~ bumbo, ~ bumpers, ~ bumpits, ~ bumpo, ~ bumpus: =belly flop 1. chiefly sNEng, PA See Map 1877 Bartlett Americanisms, Belly-Bumbo. A mode of sliding down 1

also belly-bumber,

by boys on their sleds, when lying on their bellies. 1912 DN 3.566 sePA, IL, Belly-bumper. 1912 DN 3.571 wIN, I'm not afraid to ride down that hill belly-bumper. 1919 DN 5.76, In Warren, Mass., about 1 890, the term was belly-bumper or belly-jlopper. 1943 LANE Map 576 hills

—

sNEng, [Belly-bumper(s) occas; belly-bumpits, belly-bumpo, belly-bumpus— rare.] 1950 WELS 2 Infs, WI, Belly bumper. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE25) 41 Infs, chiefly sNEng, PA, Belly-bumper; RI6, Belly-bumber. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 292 Sth, To coast lying down flat [58 infs:] belly bumper. chiefly

.

.

213

belly-bunk

South) coasts lying

down

down

flat

.

.

.

belly-cabump

The common choices

LAUM

1973 Allen

belly booster.

belly bust,

/

are belly buster,

Coast lying

1.390,

which spread west from Virginia, West Virginia, and southern Ohio, is the expression used by one-half of the Iowa and South Dakota speakers and by three-fourths of those in Nebraska. One .

.

Belly-buster,

.

rare variant, belly-bust,

is

scattered; another, belly-booster,

is

only in

Iowa.

bumper

•belly-

1

+

(Qu. EE25)

war

2 =belly-flop 2. 1868 Channing Recollections 33 RI (as of late 1790s), The boy who happened to make the "belly-bumper" movement, as it was termed, was ejected from the circle [of divers]. Jumping was not allowed. 1890 DN 1 .60 sePA, Belly-bumper: an awkward dive, when the boy, instead of cleaving the water with his hands and head, falls flat on his stomach with a splash. Common in Philadelphia. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE29) Infs PA35, 190, RI12, Belly-bumper. 2 also rarely belly-bluster: =belly-flop 2.

belly-bunk

n,

Cfbunkv

adv Also belly-bung NEast

1

Cent

=belly-flop 1. 1866 Harper's Mag. 32.355/2 NYC, Running at full speed [with the 1.412 c,swNY, sled], he tumbled "belly-bung" upon it. 1896 Belly-bunk used by boys for coasting on sleds face downwards. 1943 LANE Map 576 (Belly-bump), 3 infs, nwVT, sME, Belly-bunk. 1967

DN

.

.

DARE(Q\i. EE25)

Inf MA50, Belly-bunk.

nMS, sLA, nAR, To

1

.

belly, is to

.

make

NEng Cf belly-bump

— a dive

wGA,

DN 3.126

1906

a belly-buster.

nwAR,

1954 Harder

Belly-buster.

Bellv-buster. Coll.

cwTN,

which the water is hit "flat" with the abdomen. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Belly-buster. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE29) 307 Infs, chiefly Sth, Midi, West, Belly-buster; 22 Infs, scattered Sth, Midi, Belly-bust; KS5, Belly-busting; SC5, Belly-bluster. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 40 Sth, When someone who is diving hits the water face

down esp

.

in

W

coast lying

belly-bunt n, adv .

W Midi,

.2 14 NC, VA, Lieutenant H.J. Darnall writes that belly-busword he has always heard in this sense [i.e., "an awkward dive, when the boy falls flat on his stomach"]. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 80, To jump from a height into the water, falling on the

1892

Bellv-buster

=belly-flop 1. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 290 wTN, down flat [6 infs:] belly bunker.

1 =belly-flop 1

DN

chiefly Sth,

Section

ter is the

1908 DA' 3.290 eAL,

belly-bunker v phr

.

Map and Map

See

bust

1

...

is

belly buster in three-fourths of the choices or

It is

more. Belly

next.

1890 DN 1.60 ME, MA, To coast lying on the stomach "to go belly-bump" and "to go belly-bunt." 1910 DN 3.452 seVT, Bellybunt Used very frequently by children. "I'll slide down hill bellybunt." 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 80, Belly-bunt predominates in the upper Connecticut Valley, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and in parts of Maine. 1950 WELS Suppi, 1 Inf, swWI, Belly-bunt— child throws himself on a sled; 1 Inf, csWI (formerly of Bangor ME), Belly.

.

.

.

.

bunt— coasting on a sled. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE25) Infs ME9, MA5, 6, 38, NH5, NY23, 75, OH8, VT12, WI52, Belly-bunt. 1973 Allen

LAUM 1.390, Coast lying down

attributed to the local Irish in

.

.

.

Belly-bunt

is

recorded only as

Winona, Minnesota.

2 =belly-flop 2. 1966 DARE (Qu. EE29) Inf ME9, Belly-bunt. belly burglar See belly robber

belly-buster n, adv Also belly-bust,

busting

W

Midi, Rocky chiefly See Map 1 889 (1971) Farmer Americanisms 50, To take a belly-buster to ride down a hill in a sled lying on one's stomach. 1892 DN 1.235 cwMO, Belly-buster. 1906 DN 3. 26 nwAR, Belly buster, adv. phr. "I like to coast belly buster." 1912DA3.571 wlN, Belly-booster. 1918IW5.22 NW, Belly-buster The manner of coasting by lying on the sled on 1

also belly-booster: =belly-flop 1.

Mts,

NW

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

1944/l4DS2.53nwAR, swNC, nwSC, Belly-buster. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 80, Adverbial expressions for coasting 'face-down' on a sled belly-bust, belly-buster .

.

occur in the South Midland and in parts of Virginia. 1950 WELS Suppi, 1 Inf, swWI, Belly-buster belly-flop, coasting; Inf, swWI, Let's take a belly-buster, let's go belly-buster sleigh ride on one's tummy; Inf, seWI, Belly booster throwing yourself on a sled. 1965-70 DARE(Q\i. EE25) 125 Infs, chiefly Midi, Rocky Mts, NW, Belly-buster; IL140, IN 16, 19, IA34, NM9, UT12, WV14, WY4, Belly-

—

1

—

1

M038, TN36, WA9,

busting; (Qu.

Change 40

Belly-bust;

—

W

COM, M036, OH77,

Bellv-

EE24b) Inf PA234, Belly-busting. 1971 Wood Vocab. When someone (during brief periods of snow in the

Sth,

varr

(Qu. EE29)

3 See buster 6. belly-butting n, adv Also belly-butt; perh by folk-etym, bellybutton esp NEng

=belly-flop

1.

.

one's belly. Especially by children, but general.

booster;

•belly- buster 2 +

.

.

LANE Map 576

1 inf, seMA, [be4i bAt]; 1 inf, sVT, [beh bAt]; 1 [beh 'bAt]; inf, seMA, [belr bAtn]; 1 inf, cnMA, [bell bAtn]. 1965 PADS 43.27 seMA, Belly-bump 1 [inf] belly button. 1973 Allen

1943

inf,

nME,

1

.

LA UM

1

.39

.

swND, The act of a boy's throwing himself face down as he

1

starts to coast

downhill on a sled

.

.

.

belly butting [1 inf).

n, adv Also belly-cachunk, ~ cahoot (cf cahot). kachug, ~ kachunk [ca- var of ker- -I- bump or other onomatopoeic element]

belly-cabump

~

kabonk,

=belly-flop

1943

~

1.

LANE Map

576 seCT, Adverbial expressions recorded in the go) belly-bump Belly-cachunk, ~ cabump. IbidsXH, Belly-cahoot. 1970 DARE (Qu. EE25) Inf NY232, Belly-kaphrase to coast

(slide,

.

.

.

belly cheater

flat

.

.

Wood

1971

bonk.

Change 293

Vocab.

kachug

belly

infs:]

[3

214

belly girt

/

.

LAUM 1.391, Coast lying down

.

coast lying

down

kachunk. 1973 Allen Belly-kachug is checked by two

.

.

To

Sth,

belly

infs:]

[3

.

.

.

Midland respondents, one in Iowa of Illinois and English parentage and one in Nebraska of Swedish parentage. belly cheater See belly robber

belly-clapper n 1

=belly-flop

1968

DARE (Qu.

EE25) Inf OH72,

Belly-clapper.

EE29) Inf OH72,

Belly-clapper.

belly-coast n Also belly-coaster,

OH23,

Belly-coast;

Inf.

.

.

.

1951

.

a child picks up his sled, runs with it, and then throws himselfdown on it, that's a ) 143 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, West, Belly-flop; 60 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, West, Belly-flopper; RI3, Belly-flapper; VA9, Belly-flip; (Qu. EE24b, When children go down hill on a sled they're 1973 Allen 1.390, Coast ) Inf NJ58, Belly-flopping. lying down Belly-flop, common in western New England, dominates the Northern speech territory of the U[pper] M[idwest].

~

.

NE6, OH77, 1973 Allen

belly-coaster

says he used this as a

do such a

See

dive.

Map and Map Section

1.396 nwIL, csNY, Belly-flop, belly-flopper: an attempt at diving which results in striking the water on the stomach. 1965-70

NY88, neNE,

Belly-coasting;

LAUM

1.391

presumably their

Ibid 392, Belly coaster: he lived near Madison, Wi.

respondent].

boy when

belly-cutter See belly-gut

A dive in which the front of the body strikes flat

DN

1895

in several expressions,

[1

.

2 also belly-flap:

coasting

Infs

EE25)

.

against the water; to

Belly-coaster.

Respondents voluntarily wrote natural ones:

England and on Delaware Bay.

1

.

1.

DARE (Qu.

1965-70

[infs]

New

5.65

.

DARE (Qu.

=belly-flop

sled.

Western

cwNH, Belly-flop or flopper ... A plunge, belly down, on a 1965 PADS 43.27 seMA, Belly-bump 5 [infs] belly-flopper, 2 [inf] belly flat. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE25, When belly flapper, 1

LAUM

1.

2 =belly-flop 2.

1968

belly-flopper, in

PADS

DARE (Qu.

EE29, When swimmers are diving and one comes down flat ) 289 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, West, 62 Infs chiefly Nth, N Midi, Belly-flopper; CT35, MA57,

onto the water, that's a Belly-flop;

MO 17, NH5, Belly-flap; PA 190, 245, RI12, Belly-flapper; VA9, Bellyflip.

1

belly-deep n [Echoic] =bullfrog 1. 1968 DARE (Qu. P22) Inf IN42, Belly-deep. belly-dive n =belly-flop

2.

1965-70 DARE{Qu.EE29) Infs AZ15,CA22, 5 1, IN23, LA12,NM9, NV55, NC16, OK28, 31, SD1, TX12, Belly-dive.

belly-down v phr =belly-flop 1971

Wood

1.

Vocab.

Change 290

Sth,

To

coast lying

down

flat

.

.

[28

down.

infs:] belly

belly-fashion adv =belly-flop

1973 Allen

1.

LA UM

1

.39

1

MN, ND, A boy's throwing himself face down

as he starts to coast downhill

on a

sled

.

.

.

belly fashion [4 infs].

belly -flouncer n Also belly-flounders,

belly fleece n

1968 Adams Western Words on the belly of an animal.

17, Belly fleece

— The thin layer of

1

also rarely

N

West belly-flat: The

flesh

~

~

flip,

flopper

1859 Willis Convalescent 75 seNY, The only attitude he patronizes on is slightly apoplectic. 1860 Marysville Appeal 30 Mar 4/ (DA) CA, None of your belly-flounders! This lying down on a sled [is] not the thing. 1943 LANE Map 576 Nantucket MA, Belly1

Midi,

act of coasting

on a

sled face

down,

usu after running and throwing oneself onto the sled; hence v, to perform such an action; hence adv, with such an action. See

Map 1896 wards

bump

1.412 IL,

Used by boys

for coasting

on

\9\2DN 3.566,

sleds face

down-

"Ride belly gut" Belly-flapper is reported from Northern Vermont. 1943 Z^ATsMap 576 wCT, wMA, .

.

.

Belly-flop.

Adverbial expressions

.

.

to coast (slide, go)

.

.

belly-bump

.

.

~

flop,

.

1947 Denver Post (CO) 5 Mar 1 /2 CO [Caption:], Taking no took what he chance of missing thefun of sliding on the snow, Tommy feared might be one of his last "belly-flops." 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 80, Adverbial expressions for coasting 'face-down'

•belly-flop

1

+

varr

.

on a sled

(Qq. EE25, EE24b)

.

.

.

~ flouncer.

=belly-flop

LANE Map

belly-bump,

.

infl

by belly

girt]

1.

.

576

[2 infs:]

MA, Adverbial expression ~ gert(s). 1969 DARE (Qu. .

.

to coast (slide, go)

EE25) Inf MA21,

Belly-gert.

belly girt n Also belly girth

chiefly

NEng, S Atl See

Map Cf

.

~ flopper.

.

.

belly-gert n, adv [Prob alter of belly-gut; perh

1943

DN

~ flumps

1.

his sled ("belly-flumps")

belly-flop n; also v, adv Also belly-flapper, chiefly Nth,

=belly-flop

belly-flop.

girt

A band that goes around the belly of a horse and holds the saddle or harness in place; a bellyband. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. L53a, The band that goes under a horse's middle

•belly girt +

var

(Qq. L53a, b)

.

215

belly-grinder

Infs, chiefly NEng, S Atl, Belly girt; CT24, 26,29, FL34, LA 15, MAS, 6, RI8, SCI 9, Belly girth; (Qu. L53b, The band that goes under a horse's middle if it 's a part ofa work harness) 32 Infs, chiefly NEng, S Atl, Belly girt; CT24, LA 15, MD34, MA6, RI8, SCI 9, VT16, Belly girth.

to

hold a saddle on) 28

32,

.

belly-grinder =belly-flop

.

DN 1.60 swOH, wPA, Belly-grinder: to coast lying on the stom1949 Kurath Word Geog. 80 WV, Adverbial expressions for coasting 'face-down' on a sled are numerous belly-grinder, in the Wheeling area. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 291 Sth, To coast lying .

flat

.

.

=belly-flop

1

v,

adv Also

.

=belly-flop

.

~ guts, ~ gutter(s);

manner of

Belly-gut:

DN 3.566 cNY,

downward on the

Belly-landing;

(Qu. EE29) Infs CA1, IN41. KS20, NC88, VA42, INT 6. KS7, MS30, NCI, Belly-land.

member

PA

rarely

~

gutsies: =belly-

Map

See

n

1967 DARE (Qu. CC7,

member

IL21. Belly

.

.

A person who goes to church

— because he only comes when

very seldom) Inf there's a

church

supper.

eMA,

coasting

Belly-gut ...

— face downward on

To

slide

down

hill

sled.

lying face

sled Bellygut and gutsies from vicinity of Boston. ~ gut(s), ~ gutter(s). 1943 LANE Map 576 wNEng, Belly-bump, 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 80, Adverbial expressions for coasting 'facedown' on a sled Belly-gut, belly-gutter are found from the lower Connecticut to the Great Lakes and on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. 1950 WELS Suppl, 2 Infs, WI, Belly-gut, bellv-gutter. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE25) 12 Infs, 9 in NY, Belly-gut; CT6, NJ8. NY52, 206, PA4, 71, Belly-gutter; (Qu. EE24b) Inf PA 174, Belly-gutting. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 291 FL, TN, To coast lying down flat [2 infs:] belly gut 1973 Allen LAUM [1 inf:] belly gutter. 1.390, Coast lying down Belly-gut, found from western Connecticut to the Great Lakes, survives with two infs. in Minnesota and one each in northeastern Iowa and in North Dakota. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

2.

NW

pad n

belly

Cf blanket 3

joe

.

wCT,

1.340

1912

EE25) Inf IN10, Belly-jumper.

DARE

1965-70

.

1845 Judd Margaret 173 ME, "I shall take it knee-bump, next "Try bellygut, you'll like that better." 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Belly-guts. More commonly Belly cutter or gutter ... A term applied by boys to the manner of sliding down hill on their sleds, when lying on their bellies. 1890 DN 1 .60 NJ, Belly-gutter. 1894 DN time."

down.

belly-landing n Also belly-land

belly-gutter

NEast, esp NY,

chiefly

.

MA, Bellygut, Bellyhump— Terms used

sled with the face

[6 infs:] belly grinder.

also belly-cutter,

flop

on a

1.

DARE (Qu.

xbelly 1

lie

belly-kabonk, belly-kachug, belly-kachunk See belly-cabump

1.

1890

belly-gut n,

Folkl. 5.145

To

belly-jumper n

adv

v,

Amer.

Jrl.

1968

ach.

down

1892

in "coasting."

belly-slam

/

.

.

.

A pancake. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Belly pads— Hotcakes. 1977 Churchill Don't Call 58 nwOR(as of cl918), "A belly pad," sighed Mrs. Johnson with a resigned look, "is a hot cake. Now don't tell me they don't have hotcakes in Boston!" Mother said they did but they called

them hot

cakes.

belly-plumper adv =belly-flop

1.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1877 Bartlett Americanisms, Belly-Plumper The same as BellyGuts ["A term applied by boys to the manner of sliding down hill on their .

when

sleds,

sled.

=belly-flop

1950 EE25)

their bellies."]

.

.

.

.

Sometimes when the

slide is

Eastern Massachusetts.

n Also belly-riding

belly-ride

.

on

lying

without the

.

1.

WELS Suppl.,

Inf,

1

csWI,

1965-70

Bellv-riding.

MN23, MO20, NY70,

IN41. KS15,

Infs

DARE (Qu.

200, Belly-ride;

KY5,

Belly-riding.

belly robber n Also belly burglar,

A steward or cook. 1914 DN 4.150 [Navy AmSp

1942

~

cheater joe

slang], Bellyrobber

[Army

.

.

Commissary

.

steward.

(mess sergeant).' Rather rare, and used only by old regulars. 1944 AmSp 19. 104 [Sailors' argot], A ship is a workhouse Her steward is the belly-robber. 1944 Adams Western Words 17, Belly-cheater A slang name for the cook. Many cooks were merely cooks and not cowmen. One cowhand informed me that the cook with his outfit "didn't savvy cow unless it was dished up in a stew." 1956 Sorden-Ebert Logger's Words Gt Lakes, Belly-burglar Belly-robber, A name often given to the cook, especially if he was a poor one. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW. 17.68

.

.

slang], 'Belly robber

.

—

.

.

.

belly-rub n, v chiefly

A dance;

S Midi

dance closely (with someone). 1938 Stuart Dark Hills 295 eKY, People can't dance like that nowadays. Theyjust get up and belly-rub a little. 193SAmSp 13. 316NE [Black], A 1941 is original in Lincoln. sIN. 1944 PADS 2.53 AR, NC, SC, TN, Belly-rub ... Almost any dance. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Belly-rub a "round" dance. To "round" dance. 1964 Baraka Dutchman & Slave 34

dance

1965-69

DARE

(Qu. EE29) Infs

NY206, UT4,

Belly-gutter;

WI18,

1

—

your ass like an elephant. That's not my kind of belly rub. Belly rub is not Queens. Belly rub is dark 1967-68 places, with big hats and overcoats held up with one arm. DARE (Qu. FF4. Kinds of dancing parties) Infs OH47, TX5, Belly[Black],

belly-guts n

See quots. ?obs Cf belly-wax 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 29, Belly-guts In Pennsylvania, molasses candy is so called. 1870 Nation 11.56/2 PA, The molasses candy which had been "worked" till it became white went by another name "Belly-guts" was the name it bore. 1

.

.

a struggle or a bellyrub. 'Bellvrub'

16.2

NYC

Belly-gut.

.

is

AmSp

2 =belly-flop 2.

to

.

.

That

ol'

.

rub;

you do,

dipty-dip shit

NY73. TX51,

rolling

.

Belly-rubbing.

belly-shot adj arch

.

2 See belly-gut

1

See quots. 1688 in 844 Force Tracts 3. 2.26 VA, After that sweet Food they are not so prompt to brouze on the Trees, and the coarse Grass which the Country affords; so that thus their Guts shrink up, and they become Belly-shot as they call it. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bellyshot Cattle that have become lean and pinched from lack of food in 1

belly-gutsies, belly-gutter(s) See belly-gut belly hole n

1965-70

DARE

MO 19, PA44,

164,

(Qu. X34,

TX51,

.

.

The

navel) Infs

Belly hole.

belly-hoocher n =belly-flop 1. 1968 DARE (Qu. EE25) Inf IN5, Belly-hoocher.

belly-hump v =belly-flop

1.

KY19, MD19,

27,

.

.

1

.

the winter.

belly-slam n, v Also belly-slammer

chiefly

eGt Lakes

=belly-flop 1. 1948 WELS Suppl. Inf. cWI, Belly-slam; Inf, cWI, Throwing yourself on a sled go belly-slamming. 1950 Ibid nwPA, Belly-slam [used in an advertisement for sleds made in Titusville, PA]. 1950 1

1

—

1

belly-slap

belly

/

washer

216

WELS (When a child picks up his sled, runs with it, and then throws himselfdown on it) 2 Infs, cWI, Belly slam. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. EE25) Infs

NY99, OH1,

OH5, PA

1

coast lying

15, 29, 68,

52, Belly-slammer.

down

2 =belly-flop

flat

.

.

PA 130, 185, WV13, Belly-slam; NY30, 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 29 Sth, To 1

slam.

[9 infs:] belly

2.

J

130, Belly-slam;

belly-slap n Also belly-slapper

EE29) Inf NJ69,

Belly-slap;

OH74,

Belly-slap-

per.

belly-slider n Also belly-slide,

=belly-flop

~

sliding,

~

2)

Green VA Folk-Speech, Belly-timber 1969 DARE (Qu. H6, "He .

.

.

.

.

.

sliding [3 infs].

belly-smacker n chiefly cGt Lakes =belly-flop

1917 term.

Mil

.

GA79,

")

Inf

a

man

=belly-flop 1. 1967 DARE FW Addit ME, Belly to butt down the mountainside on slats what Infs grandfather used to do as a child when it snowed in Maine.

belly-tunk n =belly-flop

1.

ME

1975 Gould Lingo flop onto a child's sled is belly

1

The belly-bumper that means

1,

a face-down Maine, a belly-bunt or a belly-tunk.

often, in

up v phr

1979 in 1982 Barrick Coll. sePA, Belly up "She bellied up." Only occurrence.

— Show signs of pregnancy.

.

belly-wallop n

Same as belly-gut, the usual 1965-70 DARE(Qu. EE25) Infs

1919 DN5.16, Belly-smacker.

14,

Food; that which

.

1.

DN 4.388 neOH, Belly- smacker NY144,

177, 196,

.

certainly enjoys his

Belly timber. 1981 AmSp 56.157 nwNC, My of seventy with under seven years of formal education who has spent less than one year of his life outside northwestern North Carolina, declared: "Old Mr. could top them all. He could really put away the belly-timber." .

.

1

.

1.

.

~

1

—

sledding

1950 WELS SuppL, 1 Inf, seWI, Belly-sledding— a child throws himself on a sled. 1969-70 DARE (Qu. EE25) Inf M06, Belly-slider: TN66, Belly-sledding. 1971 Wood Vocab. C7?a«ge40Sth,Fortheactof coasting while lying down flat some informants added belly slide. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.391 IA, MN, NE, The act of a boy's throwing himself face down as he starts to coast downhill on a sled belly slide [1 inf],

1899 ( 19

supplies the belly.

belly-to-butt v

2.

DARE (Qu.

1968-70

Food.

father,

1965-70ZX4 R£(Qu.EE29)InfsOHl, 15,29,PA76, NY30, OH5, Belly-slammer. =belly-flop

belly timber n [Engl dial]

145, 184,

WV10,

OH70,

.

.

=belly-flop

.

88, 97,

PA130,

133, 134, 165, 167,

Belly-smacker.

1968 belly

See

Map

and

Map

wash n

soft drink. 1900 DA' 2.22 [College jargon], Belly-wash

Section

1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE29) 50 Infs, chiefly eGt Lakes, Bellv-smacker; MI69, 118, OH88, PA 185, Belly-smack.

EE25) Inf MD15, Belly-wallop.

A

1

2 also belly-smack: =belly-flop 2.

1.

DARE (Qu.

AmSp 7.50

.

.

Any

.

1931

soft drink.

and other "soft" drinks Amer. Folkl. 11.19 cPA, In our

[Loggers' argot], Water, soda water,

known as community are

1964

"belly-wash."

Jrl.

[=belly-wash] always referred to bottled soft drinks "pop," and was never used for any other potable. We had a plant in our .

.

it

town which bottled pop, and we boys would go to the "belly-wash 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H78, Ordinary soft drinks, usually factory." carbonated) Infs AR55, CT2, 29, MT5, NJ1, NY209, NC52, OR3, SC43, Belly wash. 1968 DARE FW Addit DEI, Belly-wash— joking name for a large Pepsi-cola. 1970 Tarpley Blinky 194 neTX, Carbonated beverage in a bottle

.

.

[1 inf:]

belly-wash.

A weak

or bad drink, usu alcoholic. 1889 Century Diet., Belly-wash Any kind of drink of poor quality. [Vulgar.] 1926 DN 5.385 ME, Belly-wash ... A wretched drink, "For coffee they give (past tense) us belly-wash." Common. 1932 Progress (Charlottesville VA) 7 Sept 2/3 (Hench Coll.), I am told many "beer places," are really entirely within the law ... It is only the weak concoction scoffers call "belly wash." 1932 AmSp 7.329 [Student jargon at Johns Hopkins Univ.], Belly-wash bad liquor. 1950 WELS 1965-70 DARE (Qu. (Bad liquor) 1 Inf, cwWI, Belly wash. Bad DD21a. Liquor) Infs AK8, PA230, Belly wash; (Qu. DD21b, 2

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

PA 148,

Belly wash; (Qu.

.

.

.

l=belly-flop 1.

1967-68

DARE (Qu.

EE25)

Infs

MI49,

78, Belly-smasher.

2 also belly-smash: =belly-flop 2. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE29) Infs MI65, 75, 78, 81, MA58,

PA 194, OH23, WA6,

Belly-smasher;

OH68,

.

NM12,

Belly-smash.

.

Whiskey, especially DD21c, Beer) Infs AK8, illegally made) Inf ID5, Belly wash; (Qu. DD25, CA 137, 141, MA33, MN21, NY209, OK42, PA230, UT4, VT16, Belly Ferwash; (Qu. DD27, Wine) Inf NJ1, Belly wash; (Qu. DD28b, mented drinks made at home) Inf MD36, Belly wash. 1968 Adams Western Words, Belly wash What the cowboy calls weak coffee. 1 969 DARET&pe GA72, If it's very bad liquor, it's usually called belly wash or liquor) Inf

belly-smasher n

.

.

.

.

.

—

neighbor liquor.

belly-splash n Also belly-splasher =belly-flop 2.

1965-70 DARE(Q\i. EE29) Infs IL4, 92, MI61, 105, NY59, 99, 232, SC21, 65, 68, Belly-splash; GA72, IN69, MI8, 49, 101, NY75, TX71,

VA 13,

Belly-splasher.

3 Nonsense, "hog wash." 1958 McCulloch Woods Words word for baloney. belly

1968 Adams Western Words 18, Belly through the brush expression meaning to hide and dodge the law.

— A cowboy's

.

.

.

Another

washer n

=belly wash

—

tion.

=belIy-flop 2.

ME

1975 Gould Lingo 1 1, The "6e//y-flopper" taken in the ol' swimmin' hole often comes out in Maine as belly-thumper and belly-whacker.

n [From the sensation sudden drop in elevation] =thank-you-ma'am.

Belly wash

,

belly-thumper n

belly tickler

NW,

1. ?Sth, S Midi 1909 Ware Passing Engl., Belly-washer (Amer. Saloon). Lemonade or aerated water. 1 966 - 70 DARE (Qu. H7 8 Ordinary soft drinks, usually carbonated) Infs FL19, KY84, LA40, SC32, Belly washer(s). 1970 DARE FW Addit TN, Belly washer soda pop. Overheard in conversa-

1

belly through the brush v phr

Pacific

in the

stomach caused by the

1950 WELS (Sudden, short dip in the road) 1 Inf, seWI, Belly 1968 DARE (Qu. N30) Inf OH82, Belly tickler.

tickler.

2 See quot.

1966

DARE

Cf belly wash (Qu.

DD27,

.

.

2

Nicknames

.

.

for wine) Inf

GA9,

Belly

washer.

3 See quot. Cf gully washer 1967-70 DARE (Qu. B25, ..Avery heavy INI 5, 69, Belly washer.

rain) Infs

CA181, IL15,

217

4 =belly-flop 2. 1969-70 DARE (Qu. EE29)

DN

Belly-washer.

Cf belly-guts

?obs

5

June 37/2,

1965-70

Yorker

1

below the ford

/

We passed canals in which boys were DARE (Qu. EE29) 71 Infs, scattered,

but esp NY, C Atl, Belly-wopper; 10 Infs, Belly-whopper; Belly-wop; OH80, Belly-whomper.

1

13 Infs.

candy ... Often

molasses

Belly-wax:

New

taking bellywhoppers.

1940

NC72, TN46,

Infs

belly-wax n Pronc-sp bailey- wax 1894 1.328 sNJ, pron[ounced] Bailey-wax.

belly-wax

weed n Cf bellyache

root, bellyache weed Roots of what the old backwoodsmen called "belly weed" are good for colic and stomachache.

belly

1970

NC Folkl.

18.16,

~ whacky

belly-whacker n, adv Also belly-whack, NEast, esp NY 1

also belly-whacking,

1896

DN

1.412

~

wocker: =belly-flop

cwNY, Coasting on

chiefly

1.

downwards sNEng, [Belly-whack;

sleds face

.

.

.

Belly-

whack. 1943 LANE Map 576 scattered bellywhacker; belly-whacky]. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 80, Adverbial expressions for coasting 'face-down' on a sled occur in scattered fashion: belly-whack, sporadically throughout the North [i.e., sNEng, NY, PA, .

.

neOH]. 1950 PfTLSl

Inf, cwWI, Belly Whacker. 1950 WELSSuppl, cwWI, Belly-whacking. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE25) Infs MI67, NY28, 154, 162, 172, 213, 223, PA94, 181, Belly-whacker; MAM, 1

Inf,

NY

•belly-

Belly-whack; 190, Belly-wocker [-waka-]. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 291 Sth, To coast lying down flat [1 inf:] belly whack. .

2 =belly-flop 2.

1965-70D^#£(Qu.EE29)InfsMI67,MA14, 100,NY113, CT9,

162, 200, 213, 234, Belly-whacker;

NY 107,

123, 154,

Belly-whack.

DN 1.328

NJ, Belly-whistle: a drink made of molasses, vinegar, and nutmeg used by harvesters at the daily nooning. 1912 DN 3.569, Switchel ... A drink made of water, vinegar, molasses, and ginger. In Connecticut and Vermont called ginger vmter; in New Jersey, water,

usu belong, belongs, belonging; rarely belongen of Gullah speech, pronc-spp blan, blanks, blants, b 'long, blongst, blonx. 1888 Jones Negro Myths 59 GA coast, One er de hen wuh blanks ter Buh Chanticleer fambly. Ibidl63, Eh blants ter you. 1891 Page Elsket 124 VA [Black], Mr. P'laski Greener, whar Lucindy use' to b'longst to. 1908 S. Atl. Qrly. 7.343 SC [Gullah], Disha kounou blanks tuh we! in pres, pres pple:

.

n, v,

spp belly-womper,

adv Also belly-whomper,

~ wop, ~ wopper(s)

~ whop

chiefly Nth,

Pronc-

N Midi, esp

NY, NJ =belly-flop 1. See Map 1890 DN 1 .60 cNJ, Belly-whopper: to coast lying on the stomach. 1934 Sun (Baltimore MD) 1 Feb 10/7 (Hench Coll.), Sledding is not so popular with those who went belly-whopper twenty or thirty years ago. 1943 LANE Map 576 CT, Belly-bump, ~ whopper, ~ whop. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 80, Belly-wop, belly-wopper(s) dominates ( 1) the lower Hudson, Long Island and East Jersey, and (2) Maryland. 1950 WELS Suppi, 2 Infs, WI, Belly-whopper; 1 Inf, seWI, Belly- whopping— sledding, as children in New England. 1951 Graham My Window 148 ME, There is an icy crust, and Lani and I go belly-whopper down the hill into the pasture. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Belly-whopper When a child throws himself face downward on his sled. 1965-70 DARE {Qu. EE25) 96 Infs, scattered Nth, N Midi, esp NY, NJ, Belly-wopper; 9 Infs, Belly-whopper; 19 Infs, chiefly NY, NJ, MD, Belly-wop; CT8, Bellywhopping; PA242, Belly-womper; (Qu. EE24b, When children go down hill on a sled they say they're ) Infs NY45, 57, PA81, Bellywhopping; DC2, NY51, Belly-wopping. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 29 Sth, To coast lying down flat [7 infs:] belly wop [29 infs] belly wopper. 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

canoe (a cypress dugout) belongs to us. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 70 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah], Cap'n, all dese 'yuh mans belong, belongs, blonx to quality. Ibid 290 [Gullah Glossary], Blan belonged, belonging belong, belongs, belonged, beB'long, Blonx longing. 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 1 29 SC [Gullah], You can' nebber blongst to nobody, honey, an' nobody can" blongst to you. 1 953 Randolph Down in Holler 46 Ozarks, Belongen is a form of belong, as in the sentence, "Them dogs belongen to Ab Landers." English:

belly whistle.

.

(Qu. EE29)

belong v A Forms. 1

Seequot 1894.

belly-whopper

van

+

(cf -en suff 5 ); also, esp in representations

belly whistle n

1894

whopper 2

.

.

.

this

.

2 past, past pple:

.

—

—

.

usu belonged; occas b'longded (d -ed pret suff

representations of Gullah speech, pronc-spp blan, blong, blongst, blonx. 1); also, in

1891 Harris Balaam 140 GA [Black], It b'longded in de fambly. 1908 5. Atl. Qrly. 7.34 SC [Gullah], Me yerre dem; dem blan fuh yerre we. [=1 heard them; they were obliged to hear us.] 1922 [see Al above]. 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 292 SC [Gullah], I ain' never blongst to nobody but you since de day you marked me in de ear wid dat knife. .

.

1

B

Sense.

Preceding

infin: to

[Engl dial]

Sth,

be obliged, need, ought; to be accustomed.

S Midi

G

1 888 Jones Negro Myths 1 A coast, Eh know Buh Alligatur blan come out de ribber an sun isself in de broom-grass fiel. Ibid 1 2, Eh mek fur de spot way de Sun blan sleep. 1911 3.537 eKY, Belong An auxiliary indicating duty or obligation; e.g., "Do I belong to chop the wood?" = "Must (shall I) chop the wood?" 1913 4.58 eTN, Belong "It Used as auxiliary in the sense of "should," "ought to" belongs to be here." 1914 4. 1 58 cVA, John Henry belongs to folia aftehSayrah. 1917DA 4.408KY, wNC. 1918 5.20 NC. 1930 6.86 sWV. 1933 Rawlings South Moon 37 FL, You kin make it, but you belong to git a license and pay a tax. 1941 138/1 VA. 1944 PADS 2.40, neLA, NC, SC, TN, VA, Belong Should, ought, to be supposed, to be accustomed. "He belongs to come to work at eight o'clock." 1946P.4Z)S6.5eNC(asofl900-10). 1950 PADS 14.13 SC, "If a drink belongs to be hot, I want it hot." 1967-70 Addit seGA, You belong to find 'em meaning you must find them; LA29, That meal come out of there just like it belonged to; GA22, He belong to come when you call him. He belongs to catch fish; VA51, That house belongs to be painted white. 1968 DARE Tape NC58, Please paint that boat like it b'longs to be.

DN

.

.

.

DN

.

.

.

.

.

.

DN

DN

r

DN

AN&Q .

.

.

DAREFW

—

below the ford adj phr Under the weather. 1

2 =beliy-flop 2.

and

Map

Section

chiefly Nth,

N Midi, esp NY, C Atl

See

Map

966

DARE (Qu.

BB39,

On a day when you don

not actually sick, you might say, "

NC33, Below

the ford.

.

.

't

I'm feeling

feeljust right, though

today.

")

Inf

4

1

Belsnickel

/

benasty

218

Belsnickel n Also Pelznickel; for addit spp, see quots [Ger Pelz fur + Nickel dim of Nicholas] Ger settlement areas 1 St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas' servant whose duty it was to punish naughty children or reward good ones. 1823 James Acct. of Exped. 1.188 PA (as of 1819), Several Canadians came this evening to dance and sing before us in celebration This dance of the termination of the year may have had its origin in the same cause that produced our Belshnickles, who make their appearance on Christmas Eve. 1830 Watson Annals Philadelphia 242 PA, "Belsh Nichel," in high German, expresses "Nicholas in his fur" ... He is always supposed to bring good things at night to good children, and a rod for those who are bad. 1869 Atlantic Mth. 24.485/ sePA, This was the real Bell-schnickel, personated by the farmer. I presume that he ought to throw down his store of nice things for the good children, and strike the bad ones with his whip. Pelznickel is a bearded Nicholas, who punishes bad ones. 1872 Haldeman PA Dutch 58 [Ger.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

They would go around the night before Christmas and the would play tricks and things like that. Sometimes they'd unhitch his horse and put the wagon, his buggy or carriage, up on deal

.

.

young

.

.

fellas

A masked and

who goes from house to house on and

eve, beating (or pretending to beat) the children

Christmas

servants,

and

throwing down nuts and cakes before leaving. A noisy party accompanies him, often with a bell, which has influenced the English name. 1890 Howells Boy's Town 7 OH, His 1890 1 .72 ePA, Bellsnickle. mother had told him how the Peltsnickel used to come with a bundle of rods for the bad children when the Chriskingle brought presents for the good ones. 1935 AmSp 10.170 sePA, Other German words used in English are Belsnik'l. 1940 Wright Pioneer Life 90 wPA, Among the Germans the Beltznickel Man, a member of the community disguised in a panther skin with trailing tail, black bearskin cap, and mask, romped with the children and filled their stockings with apples and nuts. 1945 AmSp 20.254 sPA, Belschnickel. 194$ AmSp 23 A0& swIL, Santa Claus is widely known as Bensnickelox Belsnickel. 1959 Progress (Charlottes-

DN

1

.

ville

VA)

10

.

Dec

14/1

-2 sePA (Hench

Coll.),

Belsnickel

is

the Pennsyl-

vania Dutch Santa Claus, the patron saint, the grandfather image of Christmas Eve Belsnickel wears the livery of the Santa everybody knows ... He comes openly to the front door The presents he are sturdy, practical, downgives and receives, according to custom With him often goes a little German band. Young and old to-earth join the march, stopping to serenade persons especially chosen for the accompahonor. 1967 Lake Mills Leader (WI) 2 1 Dec, Pelsnickle nied St. Nicholas as his servant and had the unwelcome task of punishing naughty boys and girls with "gifts" of lumps of coal and switches. \968 DARE FW Addit V A, Due to an old German custom in our family, New Year was also celebrated with the arrival of Bellesnoggle, a jolly old fellow who would drop candy and nuts over the bannister into the lower hall and it was a mad scramble to see who would get the 1968-69 DARE (Qu. EE41) Inf MI93, Pelznickel; PA 162, most. Belsnickel ['bel,snikl] he came on Christmas Eve before Santa Claus would come; he brought coal and onions and gave them to the naughty children, brought out a switch and spanked them. .

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A

person in disguise who visits friends or relatives at Christmas time to play pranks or beg for gifts or refreshments. Cf Christmas fool 1869 Atlantic Mth. 24.484/2 sePA, I was sitting alone, one Christmas These, I time, when there entered some half-dozen youths or men suppose, were Christmas mummers, though I heard them called "Bellschnickel." 1953 AmSp 28.245 nwPA, [Footnote:] Bellsnickels in the Bedford subarea beg for gifts, they do not bring them ... In the Bedford subarea the word and the verbal phrase I have given [to go bellsnickling] are both used, and the association in the popular mind is with bells, not with Saint Nicholas, furry or other. 1958 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7 64, 1 wish to record a folk custom of the Christmas and New Year's season, now extinct, which formerly existed in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. During the period between Christmas and New Year's, bands of young people, about 5 to 20 years of age, went about in disguises visiting neighbors. Those going about in the evening, dressed in various kinds of makeshift disguise were known as "belsnickles," and those going about 2 also Belsnickler:

.

.

.

1

.

.

1

1

were called "shanghais." 1964 Smith PA Germans 123, Today some belsnicklers still visit homes in some neighborhoods of Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Augusta Counties in Virginia and in Pendleton County, West Virginia, but most of them travel in automobiles rather than by foot. They wear commercial masks and even commercial costumes at times, but they are as boisterous and fun-loving as were their grandparents before them The custom is rapidly fading from the contemporary scene. It was 1967 DARE Tape PA9, Did you ever hear of the Belsnickles? done out in the country areas, in Lancaster County, a great in the daytime, frequently dressed like clowns,

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

belsnickeling pres pple, vbl n Also sp bellsnick(e)lin(g), -sniggling [Belsnickel 2] Ger settlement areas, esp PA

A Christmas-season

celebration; to engage in such: see quots.

1881 Scribner's Mth. 22.350 PA, He broke it [=an accordion] last New- Year's Night "out bell snicklin'." This custom is known in other parts of the Neck as "New- Year's Shooting." On New- Year's Eve, crowds of men and boys dress themselves in fantastic costumes, and roam through the Neck and lower part of the city all night. This custom grows year by year in Philadelphia. 1940 FWP Guide PA6\, [The mummers' parade's] immediate ancestor is the old German tradition of 'bell-snickeling.' As early as 1800 scattered groups of mummers from South Philadelphia paraded the streets and rang bells to receive the award of cakes and candy if their identity was not guessed. 1949 Natl. Geog. Mag. 96.23/2 VA, ePA, Bellsniggling. About a week before Christmas the men, wearing women's clothes, and the women, dressed in men's clothes, all wearing home-made masks, come to her door, she told me. "I'm supposed to guess who they are." handouts are expected. 1953 AmSp 28.245 csPA, To go bellsnickling, which describes the Christmas custom of dressing in grotesque costumes to go from house to house begging treats of cookies and candy. 1964 Smith PA Germans 119 VA, An amazing number of elderly residents of the dialect-speaking neighborhoods of the [Shenandoah] Valley remember when "belsnickeling" was common throughout the Christmas season. farmers get in sleighs and go 1967 DARE File sePA, Bell [snikalin] around caroling. Also, [at] New Holland, these people play pranks at Christmas time, [e.g.] put a wagon on a rooftop. .

.

.

—

Belsnickler See Belsnickel 2 Belsnik'l, Belsninckle See Belsnickel

Beltashazur's off-ox n [Cf Daniel 4:18f, where Daniel, also called Belteshazzar, foretells the degeneration of Nebuchadnezzar into an ox-like condition]

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

English], Bellsnickle, PGr. beltsnickkl ...

hideously disguised person,

.

top of the roof, straddle the peak of a roof of a shed Sometimes, long ago, they would dress up maybe or wear masks. 1982 Barrick Coll. sePA, Belsneakles Costumed pranksters who came door to door between Xmas and Near Years Day Also belsninckles.

.

man words in

.

.

.

.

= Adam's off-ox

1

1867 Harris Sut Lovingood Yarns 79,

1

didn't

know

relic

See also but-and-ben

hit

frum Beltasha-

zur's off ox.

Beltznickel See Belsnickel

Belzibub See Beelzebub

ben n

1

[Scots ben

One room,

< OE

be-innan]

room, of a two-room house. cwWI, But and ben. Of a house: front and

traditionally the inner

1950 WELS Suppl. back parts [=rooms].

1

Inf,

VT Hist, ns 27.125, Ben Scotch in Orleans Co. 1 973 Allen LA ben [offered by 1 inf who had heard Sitting room Scottish grandmother]. sional

1959

.

among the .

.

.

ben n 2 Pronc-sp bend

[Alter of bin]

.

.

Parlor.

UM it

See Prone Intro

1

.

1

Occa-

58

MN,

used by her

3. 1.4.a

Cf

bent n 2 2

A

storage bin.

DARE (Qu.

M6, The place where grain is kept in a barn) 36 Ben; 9 Infs, Grain ben; AR2 1 40, GA5, MS4, NE5, OR4, Bend; LA 18, Corn bend; MS21,TN53, Grain bend; (Qu. Ml) Inf TN53, Storage bens; (Qu. M3) Inf GA19, Ben; NC49, Grain ben; (Qu. M7) Inf OK72, Ben; (Qu. M8) Infs NY66, OK52, Ben; NH14, Corn ben; (Qu. Ml 2) Inf AR29, Bend; AR40, Bens; (Qu. M22) Inf NY70, Coal ben; KY72, Grainery ben; TN53, Storage ben. 1965-70

Infs, scattered,

,

ben n 3 See bent n 2 2 ben, be'n v See be

A2

ben exclam [Var of ven] See =fen. 1896

DN

1.412

also

cwNY, Ben nuggins

nudges

[nAjinz]:

A term

in marbles.

benasty v esp S Midi

To

soil,

make

dirty.

To befoul; besmear. "The little feller \9\1 DN AQSyiNC, Benasty tumbled down and benastied himself to beat the devil." 1931 Randolph Ozarks 86, On another occasion she remarked to a total stranger that her .

.

.

a

a

benaut

219

husband had done got drunk ag'in an' plum benastied hisse'f! 1960 Williams Walk Egypt 143 GA, You think I be-nasty folks' minds with my jokes and songs and such. 1972 Cooper NC Mt. Folk!. 89 wNC, degrade. Benasty

—

benaut

adj Iba'naut, ba'not|

[Du benauwd]

in

Dutch commu-

nities

Of the atmosphere:

1

close, oppressive.

DARE

(Qu. B4, A day when the air is very still, moist, and a local expression ) Inf MI 102, Benaut [ba'not] not used by the Dutch. 1982 DARE File seWI, The weather is benaut threatening, but overcast, dullish; it's lowering, and you know someIbid swMI, Benaut thing's coming, though you're not sure what. [ba'naut] can also refer to external elements: the weather or atmosphere

1969

warm

—

—

it's

—

2 Uncomfortable, esp as the result of anxiety; hard pressed. 1 969 DARE (Qu. BB7, A feeling that lasts for a short while, with difficult a Dutch breathing and heart beating fast) Inf MI 102, Benaut [ba'not] 1982 DARE File swMI, Benaut term meaning uncomfortable.

—

—

describes a person struck with discomfort-producing anxiperson can be benaut from anything that produces a panicky feeling, including heat, but central is a feeling of anxiety and pain. Ibid cCA, To be benaut is to have a feeling of oppression. It's typically caused by heat, humidity, or too many people around. Ibid seWI, If you're benaut [ba'not], you're uncomfortable and anxious. You feel aggrieved, even though that's not necessarily with reason. There's a sense that something external is going to get you, but it isn't anything specific. [ba'naut]

A

^ben box n [Prob ben within] Cf rough box

A

casket.

1966

Ozarks

(as of c 1920),

DARE Tape AL1, We called em ben box

.

.

.

That's a ben [ben]

box, the casket.

Prone Intro Forms.

|benc|; also |bmc|; less freq |binc, bene, baenc|

See

3. 1. 4.

bench-legged adj Also bench-kneed chiefly Sth, S Midi Esp of dogs: bowlegged; hence n bench(ed) legs. 1859 Taliaferro Fisher's RA25 nwNC, His stout, well-compacted body stood firmly upon, and was carried with great ease and facility by, a short, stubbed pair of benched legs and little feet, after the Chinese fashion. 1866 Smith Bill Arp 159 GA, He'd have his soul transmigrated to a bench-leg'd fice. 1898 Lloyd Country Life 1 2 AL, Old Jack [=a dog] got into a rough and tumble fight with a big bench-legged coon. 1902 DA' With legs set wide apart, as in a 'bench2.229 sIL, Bench-legged legged fiste.' 1905 3.70 Ozarks. 1906 3. 126 nwAR, BenchHaving legs far apart and crooked. "He's as ugly as a benchkneed kneed dog." 1908 3.290 eAL, wGA, Bench-legged. Having sprawling or crooked legs: used of dogs, and in derogation, of persons. 1937-39 Hall Coll. wNC, eTN, Bench-legged. like legs of bulldogs, short and spread apart ... A beagle is a bench-legged fiste. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. X37, People's legs ifthey're noticeably bent, or uneven, or not right) Infs IL7, KY59, MS16, M029, NC18, Bench-legged. .

.

.

DN

DN

.

.

.

AmSp

11.16 eTX, Bench [bint/] [bent/], [bint J], 1941 AmSp 16.5 eTX [Black], Bench sometimes [bint/], [beint/]. 1942 Hall Smoky Mt. Speech 19, Bench-legged often occurs in the expression ['baent.fJ.egad 'faist], a dog of mixed breed. Ibid 24, Bench ['baeentj]. 1969 DARE (Qu. CI 7) Inf KY28, [baenc]. .

.

.

[beint/].

.

B

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bench man n

A judge. 1965 Brown Manchild 398 NYC [Black], If I go to court and the bench [=a ten-year jail sentence] on me. I'll walk with that too. Sonny.

man throws a dime

bend n chiefly S Midi Used in place-names to 1

represent a small or unimportant community. 1964 Faulkner Hamlet 325 MS, Likely that Texas man wouldn't have knowed where Frenchman's Bend was if Mr. Snopes hadn't showed him. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. C34, Nearby settlements, villages, or districts) Inf DC12. Hell's Bend; AR55, Nigger Bend; MS23. Possum Bend; LA2, Sharely's Bend; NY20, Shirttail Bend; (Qu. C35, Different parts of your town or city) Inf IL 130. Bumblebee Bend; KY21. The Bend; Salt Lick Bend, Turkey Neck Bend.

.

.

chiefly Midi,

West

1

.

.

—

.

—

.

.

A drinking spree. [Scots] Cf bend one's elbow and std bender 1887 F. Francis, Jr. Saddle & Moccasin 84 (DAE), They do say as he was 'customed to go on a scoop on a bend, occasionally, as it were. 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 103. 1, Spree bend. 1968 DARE (Qu. DD \6,To have a drinking bout and get drunk is to go on a ) Inf CT6, Bend. 1

—

bench-fice n [bench from bench-legged +fice alter of feist n] 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Bench-fice ... A cur-dog with long body and short legs like a bench.

benching exclam [Var of vents] In marble play: =fen.

bend n 3 See bent n 2

2

bend n 4 See ben n 2 bend-a-bow See bendy-bow

1

3, If

.

.

.

.

bench-jumper n See quot. 1969 04/?£(Qu.CC4, = Holy Rollers.

1

bend doughnut n Also ben doughnut, bendy ~ sNEng =bender 1943

1.

LANE Map 575, Sliding on thin ice ...

'donats];

inf.

seMA, Run

1969

DARE (Qu.

1

'donats].

but not break) Infs

['ben 'donats];

1

.

1

seRI, To run seMA, Having

inf,

inf,

['ben

['ben

B35. Ice that will bend when you step on it, RI3, 5, Bendy doughnuts; CT25, RI15, Bend

MA74,

doughnuts.

bender n 1

also bend, benders:

=rubber

NEast Cf bending

DN

ice, thin, flexible ice

that will bear

maneuver performed on such

ice,

ice.

esp

bendy-bow, cracky benders

NJ, Bender. 1943 LANE Map 575, 3 infs, RI, Sliding Run(ning) benders; 1 inf, seMA, Run bends. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. B3 5, Ice that will bend when you step on it, but not break) Infs CT13, Mil 15, NJ39, NY2, 80, Bender; CT29, 39, NH16, Benders. 1894 on thin

ice

1

.

.328 .

.

1916

DN 4.344 seSC, Bender ... A type of kite.

3 bender 1966-70

pi benders, also bends:

DARE (Qu. DD22)

Delirium tremens. Cf std go on a Inf NJ68, Benders, (the) bends;

Benders.

.

1

2 See quot.

he [=another player] started to draw back a Benching meant that little, you'd holler "benching," "no fudging." you couldn't shoot a slinging shot or a fudge shot. You had to put your tighten-ups on the ground you couldn't move your hand.

2 See quot.

2 See bender 1.

one's weight; a sliding

hill.

DARE Tape GA

.

.

—

round, flat-topped

.

bend n 2

.

esp one in foothills,

1795 in 1940 AmSp 15.155 VA, Two poplars and a red oak on the Bench of a ridge. 1803 ( 965) Lewis Jrls. 34 wPA, What is called the third bottom is more properly the high benches of the large range of hills. 1859 (1942) Patterson Travel Diary 103 ceNE, Fronting the town is a low flat bench of land The second bench upon which the town is built rises abruptly some forty or fifty feet, and spreads out into a broad, level plateau. 1916 DN 4.319 KS, Bench Land that rises terrace-like above other land. 1932 DN 6.224 West, Bench. This is commonly used all over the West for the levels above a plain, or more commonly between a river and the bounding hills. 1934 Vines Green Thicket 9 cnAL, That's what we call the foothills or benches to the big bluff. 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 57 wNC, eTN, Bench: a level area, sometimes cultivated, on the side of a mountain. 1965 Guthrie Blue Hen 's Chick 2 MT, Benches climbed from the valley of the Teton River and to the east leveled into flatlands that ran out of sight. 1968 DARE File swID, Bench[es] Small foothills that are similar to buttes. Houses can be built on benches. 1969 DARE (Qu. C17) Inf KY28, Bench—

1966

.

.

.

Sense.

A raised plateau,

.

.

.

A

1936

always referred to people

constantly changed churches as "bench-jumpers".

.

bench n Usu

We

bendified

DN

can be benaut.

ety.

DARE File

1982

who

/

benders See bender

1,

bendified adj [bend

+ -ified]

Various religions) Inf GA74, Bench-jumpers

Bent.

3

NC23,

bending ice

/

benny

220

1919 DN 5.36 wNC, Masterest "Zeke dremp of drappin' down on his bendified knees and a-makin' the masterest raoanin' you ever hear." 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang43A, Curved bendified, bent. Ibid 121.61, Bendified knees, bended knees. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bending ice n Also bendy ice lums =bender 1.

WELS

1950

(Soft ice that will

chiefly Nth,

N Midi

.

Cfbandude-

benighted ppl adj formerly widespread, now chiefly S Midi Overtaken by darkness. 1805 ( 904) White Jrl. 26 MA, The sun was setting then and I did not know what to do about going for fear of being benighted. 1838 (1925) Kemper Trip WI 43 NY, Were benighted but finely [=finally] arrived. 1915 DN 4.224 TX, Benighted Overtaken by night. "Before he reached home he was benighted." 1950 Western Folkl. 9.158 CA, 1

1

.

.

bend when you

step on

it,

but will not

1965-70 DARE (Qu.B35Jce that will 1 Inf, ceWI, Bending ice. bend when you step on it, but not break) 16 Infs, chiefly N Midi, esp IL, sIN, Bending ice; CT6, PA 18, WI71, Bendy ice; MA68, Bending [ice]. break)

.

Benighted. Caught on a climb after nightfall. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 226 Ozarks, We figured on gittin' to Joplin, but we was benighted just south of Tipton Ford. 1974 Fink Mountain Speech 2 wNC, eTN, John figured he'd be home by sundown, but he was benighted. 1976 Garber Mountain-ese Appalachians, Benighted stranded overnight. The travelin' salesman got benighted and had to stay at the farm house. .

^bending rod n

A divining rod. 1968 DARE (Qu. there's water) Inf

CC1 3a,

.

.

A forked stick

MN28, Bending

rod

that's

used

to

— made of willow.

show where

bend one's elbow v phr Cf elbow bending drink liquor. 1937 Hench Coll. [Hench: Heard over the radio in an imitation Ozark Mountain skit], Uncle Zeke bent his elbow too much last Saturday night. 1943 Progress (Charlottesville VA) 30 Sep 1/7 (Hench Coll.). If you quit bending the elbow and put that money in War Bonds, you will be in shape to come to work next day. 1 960 Wentworth - Flexner Slang, Bend [one's] [the] elbow. 1968 Adams Western Words, Bendin' an elbow

benjamin n Also benjamins, benjamin white [By folk-etym from Middle Fr benjoin benzoin, in ref to its aromatic fragrance] chiefly NEng Cf stinking Benjamin =trillium.

To

.

.

— Drinking whisky.

1887 Harper's Mag. 75.303/1 NEng, In the woods the painted miliums folk were unfolding their delicate pink and white flowers. 1891 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 4.149 NH, Trillium erectum My father used to gather the early plants for greens, and called them Benjamins. 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.104, Trillium erectum Benjamins. S[outhern] V[ermon]t Trillium erythrocarpum, Benjamins. New England. 1891 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 10.145, Trillium erectum red Benjamin, Woodstock and Paris, M[ain]e Trillium erythrocarpum white Benjamin, Woodstock and Paris, M[ain]e. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 378, T. cernuum White Benjamin T. erectum Red Benjamin White Benjamin. T grandiflorum 1968-69 DARE (Qu. S2) Inf VT1 3, Benjamin; M035, Benjamin white [FW sugg]; NY39, Benjamin white [heard]; NH 4, Red benjamin, white benjamin.

— the "Benjamins" of the country .

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

ben doughnut See bend doughnut

bend the crab v phr

.

a somersault. 1968 DARE (Qu. EE9a, The children's trick of turning over rapidly straight forward close to the ground) Inf MD8, Bend the crab.

Pliable, limber.

1965-70

DARE

(Qu. is

KK25, Something 25

")

very

that

bends or yields easily: Bendy.

Infs, scattered,

bendy-bow n also attrib, also bend-a-bow, bendy, bendy-go: =bender

1

.

esp

sNEng 1896 DN 1.412 NH, Bend-a-bow: thin ice that bends when skated upon bendy, Connecticut]. 1950 WELS (Soft ice that will bend when you step on it, but will not break) 1 Inf, swWI, Bendy bow ice. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. B35) Infs CT32, MI65, Bendy-bows; CT4, 17, Bendy-bow; MA 17, 55, Bendy-go; CT36, Bendies;CT6, We used to run bendies. 1968 DARE (QR, near Qu. B33) Inf CT2, Did ya' ever run bendy-bows on ice? You run out and it bends and bounces back .

.

repeatedly.

2 also bow: See quots.

1903 DN 2.349 MA, Bendy bow An elastic or springy place in a clay road due to moisture chiefly in spring time. Children make bendy bows where the conditions seem favorable and jump on them till they break through. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. N30, A sudden short dip in a road) Infs AL14, PA 104, Bendy-bow; ME22, Bow. .

.

.

.

leather (at

bend

sb.

for ice in a half-thawed condition, yet elastic

1

),

"A

boy's

and capable

of bearing a weight."]

=rubber 1967

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ice.

DARE (Qu.

B35) Inf PA29, Bendy

leather.

[See quot

espSC

Sth,

1769 in 1789 Amer. Philos. Soc. Trans. 1.309 seGA, I send you a small keg of Bene or Bene Seed, which you will please to present to your Society for their inspection. 1818 Darby Emigrant's Guide 185 LA, That species of sesamum, called oriental bhene. 1867 De Voe Market Assl. 358 Sth, Bene Plant. This plant is much used in the South for culinary purposes. 1932 (1946) Hibben Amer. Regional Cookery 316, Charleston Benne Wafers. 1 94 1 FWP Guide SC 1 5 5 Peach leather and benne-seed [sesame seed] brittle are Charleston specialties in the way of confectionery. 1949 Turner Africanisms 191, West African Words in B[ambara] W[olof], [bene] Gullah ['bene] 'benne, the sesame' [bene]. 1966-68 DARE Addit SC, Sesame seeds are benne seeds sesame (Informant has never heard of sesame); ceSC, Benne seed seed. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. H80, Kinds of candy often made at home around here) Inf SC62, Benne brittle; SC4, Benne candy; SCI 9, Benne wafers; (Qu. H82b, sold years ago) Inf SC70, Benne Cheap candy ['beni] candy. ,

.

.

—

.

.

FW

—

.

.

—

.

.

.

bennie bush n A usu small California shrub (Ceanothus papillosus). 1938 Van Dersal Native Woody Plants 89, Ceanothus Flowers May-June; inflammable. Bennie bush papillosus .

.

.

.

.

.

benny n

A man's straw hat. old-fash 1922 Lewis Babbitt 121, I tip my benny to him. [In the "Fourth Printing, November, 1922" benny was changed to kelly.] 1926 Textile World 12 June 43 (W3 File), One of the tragic features of the game was the irrevocable step taken by catcher Harding when he stepped through a new straw "benny," when doing all and more than a catcher should really attempt in going after a high foul ball. 1927 Republican (Springfield MA) 1 5 Sep (W3 File), [Headline:] Men Say Goodby to Straw Hats For Another Season: Tradition Has it That All Summer Bennies Are Discarded on the 1 5th So Panamas, Sailors and Leghorns Sing Their Swan Song.

bene See benne beneath prep Pronc-spp beneaf, beneth Cf Prone Intro

2 also sp binny: 3.1.17

Std senses, var forms. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69 [In a list of provincialisms to be avoided], Beneth, for beneath. 1899 Dunbar Lyrics Hearthside 167, Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass.

bengal See bergall

Also sp bene, bhene

also attrib |'beni|

n,

1

ice See bending ice

bendy leather n [EDD bendy

name

.

.

.

.

bendy doughnut See bend doughnut bendy-go See bendy-bow 1 bendy

.

Sesame.

adj

"That willow branch

benne 1949]

bendudelums See bandudelums

.

.

.

1

To do

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bends See bender 3

bendy

.

A man's overcoat.

[Abbr for benjamin]

397, Benjamin. An overcoat. Also called a binny. Ibid, Binny. Overcoat. Especially one with big pockets [Underworld jargon], 5.438 1927 concealing loot. for Benny ... An overcoat. 1929 AmSp 4.338 [Among hoboes], Benny— An overcoat. 1931 AmSp 6.329 [Carnival cant], Benny ... An over-

1924 Henderson Keys

to

Crookdom

DN

coat.

1932 Santa Fe Mag. Jan 34/2 (Hench

Coll.),

A

short overcoat

is

7

.

Bensnickel

221

1957 AmSp 32.277 [Among jazz musicians], Benny. Men's coats or jackets for work or Overcoat. 1966 DARE (Qu. W4, outdoor wear) Inf WA1 1, Benny. 1969 DARE (QR, near Qu. W43) Inf

called a Benny.

.

CA107,

A

benny

.

3 also sp bennie: See quot. 1977-78 Foster Lexical Variation 28 NJ, Bennie, referring to tourists from New York City and North Jersey, is universal in Monmouth County and is the only specific term in northern Ocean (Point Pleasant, Bricktown, and Toms River) Probably bennie comes from Benny 'Jew,' well-known in working-class New York City. .

.

.

Bensnickel See Belsnickel =great blue heron. .

.

.

.

.

bent adj Cf bend n 2 1 Partially or thoroughly drunk. 1833 Greene Life Dr. Dodimus 2.176, He was seldom downright drunk; but was often confoundedly bent. 1927 New Republic 9 Mar 1 [Words denoting drunkenness], Bent. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. DD15, A person who is thoroughly drunk) Infs NY241, 102, Bent; [(Qu. ") Inf WI40, Half DD14, When a person is partly drunk, "He's bent out of shape]. .

.

OH

bent n bent n

A

1

1

See bentgrass

framework of a building:

see

1815 Niles' Natl. Reg. 9.200/2 PA, The floats were placed at proper distances, with their ends to the shore, and on each of them were raised two bents or frames. 1892 DN 1 .229 KY, Bent: the timbers of one side of a barn as they stand framed together. 1910 Burroughs Catskills 57 NY, Slowly the great timbers go up; louder grows the word of command, till the bent is up. 1934 Hanley Disks seCT, And when they raised this east bent of the church they had forty yoke of oxen; neCT, They put it [=a barn] together in bents. 1957 Springfield Union (MA) 5 Aug, This frame was made in sections, or bents extending the width of the barn. 1966 PADS 45.7 KY, Bent ... A subdivision of the framework of a tobacco barn framed by the intersection of the rails and the vertical supporting members of the barn. 1967 Key Tobacco Vocab. CT, MO, .

2 also ben, bend: The space between the supporting timbers of a barn, often used for hay storage; a space reaching from floor to ceiling used for

hay

storage,

chiefly

Nth Cf ben n 2

SW

1960 Vines Trees

Hemp

Other vernacular 1970 Correll Plants 7X836, infrequent or locally abundant, e. third of

547,

names are Zacate de Agua, Bequilla Bequilla.

Robust annual

.

.

.

Sesbania

.

.

.

[etc.].

Tex.

+ intrusive n]

1969 DARE (Qu. GG2, "Confused, mixed up": "So were going on at the same time that he got completely KY6, Berantled [.bi'raentld].

many

.

things ")

Inf

berbenia n Also sp berbena, berdena Pronc-spp for verbena 1966-70 DARE (Qu. S26e) Infs AL15, IL26, IA34, MD36, MA25, NC40, OH5, Berbenia; NC87, Berbena; TX64, Wild berdena. berberry n [Var of barberry; 1843 Torrey Flora berry

.

.

.

NY

OED

1.33,

[grows in] hedges,

—

1725

»]

Berberis vulgaris,

fields

and road

sides.

.

.

.

Common

Ber-

1863 U.S. Dept. Ag.

belongs to this class, as Rept. of Secy, for 1862 157, The May apple does the red berried plant well known as Berberry. 191 1 Century Diet. .

1965

DARE (Qu.

.

S26a) Inf OKI, Berberries.

berdena See berbenia

DARE

NY

.

.

LAUM

background; but hay

reported in northern Iowa, refers to an unpartitioned division made by vertical studdings. Although unrecorded in the east, hay bent was also recorded in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with this sense. bent,

ben't See be CI a

bentgrass n

A grass of the [OED 1778^]

genus Agrostis, often important as

.

.

.

fool!"

berg See burg bergall n Also bengal, berg-gylt, burgall, gall [Scots bergel(l); cf

SND] =cunner n

'

1

is very 1815 Lit. & Philos. Soc. NY Trans. 402, Bergall ofNew-York troublesome to fishermen by nibbling away their bait ... It is a large bergall that weighs ten ounces. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 58, Burgall ... A small fish, very common in New York; also found on the coast of New England, and as far south as Delaware Bay. 1887 Goode In New York, Amer. Fishes 296, The Chogset, or Cunner, or Bergall the name "Burgall" has continued in use since the revolutionary times. 1898 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 14.1577, Cunner; Chogset; Blue Perch; Bergall; Berg-gylt ... A pest to the fishermen from their habit of nibbling the bait from their hooks. 1906 NJ State Museum Annual Bengal. Gall. Bergall. Rept. for 1905 343, Tautogolabrus adspersus is extremely 1933 John G. Shedd Aquarium Guide 142, Bergall .

.

NY

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

variable in coloration.

bergamot n Also =horsemint

sp burgamot, pronc-sp bergamont

1.

1838 Flagg Far West 2.29, The orchis, the balmy thyme, the burgamot, and the asters of every tint, then prevail. 1900 Lyons Plant Names Bergamot. 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild 11, Monarda Flowers 456, There are several kinds of Monarda These plants are called Balm, Bergamot. and Horse-mint. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. S2 ) Inf NY75, Bergamont; (Qu. S26a) Infs NJ29, PA200, Bergamot; (Qu. S26b) Inf MD18, Bergamot; (Qu. S26e) Inf OH98, Bergamot. 1972 Brown Wildflowers LA 158, Bergamont, Beebalm Widespread in variety of habitats from dry sand to moist pinelands. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

berg-gylt See bergall

1791 in 1793 Amer. Philos. Soc. Trans. 3.160, Agrostis, Bentgrass. 1843 Torrey Flora 2.442, Agrostis stricta Upright-flowered Bent-grass Sandy field near the outlet of Oneida Lake. 1889 Vasey Ag. Grasses 46, Herd's grass [of Pennsylvania], Bent Grass, is extensively cultivated. 1 966 - 69 DARE (Qu. L9a) Inf RI 6, Rhode Island bent; WI21, Bentgrass; (Qu. S9) Inf WA12, Creeping bent. .

Crazy. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 371 sAppalachians, Air ye plumb bereft? 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 62 nFL, sGA, Belike Manthy'll be clean bereft, we-uns havin' stayed so long on our ventures. 1944 PADS 2. 1 sAppalachians, Bereft Crazy, "touched." "Air ve plum' bereft, ye

.

also bent:

.

bereft adj [Abbr for bereft of reason (or sense)]

.

LANE Map

103 scattered NEng, Bent or ben(d), a section of the mow or bay formed by the framework of the barn [10 infs, Bent; 2 infs Bend: 1 inf Ben]; 1 inf, Bent, a ten-foot section for hay, from the floor up. 1950 WELS (The spaces between the joists in a barn or shed) 10 Infs, WI, Bents; 1 Inf, Handle-bents; (The placefor storing hay in a barn) Inf, Bent. 1968-69 1 (Qu. M3, The place inside a barn for storing hay) Infs IN45, KY49, 189, Hay bent; KY49, Storage bent; IL26, Hay ben; (Qu. M5, Hole for throwing hay down below) Inf CA145, Bent. 1973 Allen 1.184, The same meaning [a second floor with a large open space reaching from the ground floor to the roof] is represented by bent, used by a North Dakota farmer of New York

.

.

.

.

.

1

2

SW

[AmSpan]

=Colorado River hemp.

.

Bent.

1

.

bere See bar n 3

section of the supporting

forage.

.

berduque See belduque

1

2

quots.

1939

bequilla n

.

is 1956 AmSp 31.181, A name embodying that of an individual Benson 's turkey This appellation for the great blue heron has persisted in the Puget Sound country since 1898. The tideland farm of a man named Benson was a good heron habitat, the birds were often seen on his dikes and became known as Benson's turkeys. .

.

tberantled adj [berattled Confused, "shook up."

Benson's turkey n

.

This 1871 U.S. Dept. Ag. Rept. of Secy, for 1870 423, Bentgrass which grows abundantly around St. Thomas, in Southern Utah, during the summer months, produces a kind of white, sweet species of reed,

gum.

an overcoat.

is

Berliner

/

The common reed (Phragmites communis).

.

berl See boil n

1 ,

v

A

berlaskin n [Etym unknown] 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.519, Berlaskin ...

A

hurting, an annoyance.

.

Berliner n Also Berlin, Berliner pfannkuchen [Ger Berliner of Berlin + Pfannkuchen pancake] esp WI Cf bismarck

A

doughnut with

jelly inside.

Berliner kranzer

WELS

1950

222

(A round cake, deep fried with jelly inside) 4 Infs, WI, Suppl. csWI, Berliner— a kind of filled dough-

WELS 1967-68 DARE (Qu.

Berliner.

nut.

berm

/

1950

WI62, Inf NY9,

A

H29,

round cake cooked in deep fat, with H32, Fancy rolls

jelly inside) Inf

Berliner pfannkuchen; (Qu.

and pastries)

Berlin

—

.

.

like a lady finger.

Berliner kranzer n Also sp Berliner kranser [Ger Berliner of Berlin + Kranz wreath, garland] Ger, Scan settlement areas

A

pastry shaped into a wreath. 1951 Tufford Scandinavian Recipes 22, Berliner-kranser Roll each piece of dough into about 7 inch lengths, form into a wreath and cross ends. 1952 Tracy Coast Cookery 175 ND, Berliner- Kranser Mix .

.

and butter

dough

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Chill the

.

.

.

.

work

in the

into wreaths.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

linerkranser.

n [Iboiling kettle; cf boil n v A] 1968 DARE (Qu. F4, The deep metal container used to boilfoods) Inf 1

t-berlin kettle

,

.

.

IA18, Berlin ['b^lin] kettle

berlot n |'b^lo|

— the

[CanFr]

large

one

to boil a

ham

CfDCan

—

—

.

sp berme, birm,

The bank of

a canal

opposite the tow path; transf: the bank of a road cut. 1854 N&Q 1st ser 9.12/2 PA, The bank of a canal opposite to the towing-path is called the birm-bank. 1883 Williamsporl (Pa.) Gazette March 30 ( 9 2 Thornton), The horse plunged over the berm bank into the bed of the canal. 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 7 cPA Mts (as of cl900), Burn-bank The opposite side of the canal from the tow path. 1943 Powell / Can Go Home 54 swGA, It tilted the car into the air and pitched the passengers off on to the berm of a cut through which the train was passing. 1955 Adams Grandfather 18 NY (as of 1830s), He swam across to the berm opposite. 1962 Wyld Low Bridge 17 wNY (as of 1825-60), The canal itself consisted of a berm side (berm-bank )and a towpath side. 1

1

—

.

2 a

fire fighters

burm

Engl.),

pile

was

AK Sportsman

Oct 33/ AK, That first summer we spent picking up the endless quantity of roots and sticks that lay deep on our field, and burning the many piles of debris left by the bulldozer. When deep snow interrupted this project in early November, the berm piles looked as large as ever. 1973 News-Miner (Fairbanks AK) 30 June (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), The fire escaped into a berm pile and Beistline was unable to control it. 1979 Agroborealis Jan 33 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), The vegetation was sheared with an angled blade and dozed into tightly packed, large berm rows by long pushes with a tractor. 1979 News-Miner (Fairbanks AK) 22 March (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), A warm wind blew across berms of piled brush on Dennis Green's 3,000-acre farm in the Delta agricultural 1

By

ext: see quot.

1981 Tabbert Alaskan Engl. 383, From several long-time Alaskans I have heard berm applied to the forest vegetation mat itself the moss, low plants, brush, leaf mold, etc. and the entwined roots and clinging soil if a piece is dug up. In none of these instances was the mat piled up in a berm. Perhaps this use has developed from folk analysis of the compound berm pile. That is, just as a rock pile is made up of rocks so a berm pile is made up of berm.

—

.

.

,

3 rarely bern: The shoulder of a road, chiefly PA, OH, IN, See Map 1935-42 in 1944 ADD nWV, Berm ... Usu. unknown to visitors of 4 natives. 1943 Morgantown Post 23 but known to about Feb 2/7 (ADD) WV, The trailer traveled along the berm for about 78 feet, knocking down the guard rails, before plunging over the hill. 1944 Ibid 17 Jan 1/5 nWV, The fog was so heavy in some sections that motorists had to 'feel' their way along by watching the berm or, where possible, painted lines in the center of the road. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. N25, The unpaved part of a graded road along the edge of the pavement) 20 Infs, esp PA, OH, IN, WV, Berm; OH 15, 56, Bern.

WV

burm

orig berm-bank, pronc-sp burn-bank:

1

received a call at 4 p.m. Sunday that a burning at 33 mile on the Richardson highway. 1962 Forest

d

sleigh resembling a cutter: see quot. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. N40b, Different kinds of sleighs for carrying people) Inf VT17, Berlot a kind of sleigh; it isn't a pung; usually painted red. It had a rounded dashboard and back. It was on low runners and was very low. You'd say "Low as a berlot" ['b^lo]; (Qu. N40c, For carrying other things) Inf NY24, Berlot ['bylo] cutter box on wooden runners, built down low.

berm n Also

A bank of debris formed in clearing land. 1953 Jessen 's Weekly (Fairbanks AK) 30 Apr (Tabbert Alaskan

c freq attrib:

project.

in.

A

.

foot.

1

Form

1967 DARETape MN6, And then there are Berliner kranzer ['krantsa ] which you make with the yolks of hard boiled eggs, and sugar, and raw egg yolk, and flour, and butter They're a harder cookie than the others. 1983 Capital Times (Madison WI) 11 May 19/2, On the menu for the smorgasbord will be Norwegian meatballs, and rommegrot, Norwegian pastries. Pastries include rosettes, krumkake, and berflour

fit enough to venture onto the berm 1976 Ibid 12 Feb, Bruce released the brake and the dogs took off ... I watched as the team sprinted across the road, headed directly toward the icy berm created by the snowplows. The berm was about three feet high. 1979 Ibid 1 Sep 3, The suit charged that in late July or early August Gavora, Inc. or its agents blocked Pennsylvania Street by excavating two ditches and placing two dirt berms across it with the specific purpose of denying the use of the street to the public.

on

.

.

beaten egg yolks with sugar and hard-boiled egg yolks

since few sign hunters are physically

.

1

.

1

.

A long mound or bank, spec: A levee or dike; a supporting ridge.

MD) 22 July 9/4 (Hench Coll.). Along with the being put in place on the site of the new airport, loose rock is being deposited on the berm against the outside bulkhead, for additional strength. 1941 Percy Lanterns 246 LA, A boil is a small geyser at the base of or on the berm of the levee, on the land side, of course. 1968 DARE File nDE, Berm A raised bank of dirt to impound water in a marsh. 1970 DAREFile seNE, Berm The base of a government levee along the Missouri River, 1 00 ft. wide at base, tapering to 1 5 ft. at top. In this region, non-government banks of the same type to restrain rivers are called dykes. 1973 News-Miner (Fairbanks AK) 14 Dec (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), In marginal areas a berm or bank of gravel can be spread on the surface for supporting the pipeline without upsetting the balance of the active thawing layer and the permafrost table, he said. 1976 Alaska Business and Development (Winter Issue) 8 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), As one facet of his contract, Green has built a depression in the dam foundation near the Chena River. This is a rectangular pit, 1937 Sun (Baltimore

regular

fill

now

—

—

around the edge of which is a large berm or dike extending 500 by 700 feet across. 1977 News-Miner (Fairbanks AK) 24 Dec B3/3 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), By Friday, the fuel had spread over about 2,000 square feet, including ,500 square feet outside the dike berm which is intended 1

to contain spills within the tank farm.

b A bank of snow or earth, usu at the side of a road. 1940 Hall Coll. wNC, Berme— A ridge at the side of a road; used by loggers and road-builders. 1968 DARE (QR, near Qu. N24) Inf CA62, Berm The pile of dirt at the side of the shoulder. 1972 News-Miner (Fairbanks AK) 21 Apr (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), There is no license required for road sign hunting, but a driver's license is recommended,

—

4 The strip of grass between the sidewalk and the curb, esp Gt Lakes 1965-70 DARE (Qu. N44) Infs IN69, MI47, OH70, PA 128, 234, 246, WI 19, Berm. 196$ E.Liverpool Rev. (OH) 19 June 1/3 OH, [Ref to an auto -pedestrian ramp], The blacktop surface has been applied to the 1

bridge floor, virtually all of the sidewalk has been poured and guardrails are in place. Workers are slated to shape up and seed the berms and remove the concrete forms from the under side of the span. 1973 Allen 1.382 MN, ND, [4 infs, berm; 1 inf has heard berm in Iowa].

LAUM

5 The median strip of a four-lane highway. The separating area 1967-68 DARE (Qu. N17, four-lane road) Infs CA35, IN 13, 34, Berm. .

.

6 See quot. 1940 Hall

Coll.

wNC, A berme

is

a bulge in a tree.

in the

middle of a

Bermuda mulberry

223

beshow

Bermuda mulberry n =French mulberry. 1900 Lyons Plant Names

75, CfallicarpaJ Americana L. Virginia to Florida and Texas. French Mulberry, Bermuda Mulberry. Sour-bush. is 1952 Taylor Plants Colonial Days 41 VA, This native species Common names include Bermuda neither French nor a mulberry .

.

.

.

.

mulberry. 1970 Correll Plants TX 1339, Bermuda-mulberry showy, rose-pink or lilac to violet or red-purple.

.

.

.

Fruit

NY

used to

let

We played at what you call bernie ball out in

99,

1

.

.

game of ball but they

That's just an ordinary

.

the girls run the bases.

berries, the n

Something or someone thought to be very good, excellent. 1920 in 1954 Weingarten Amer. Diet. Slang. 1922 DN 5.140 [Bryn Mawr students], Berries, quite the signifying approval. 1926 Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 285, Berries, the: an expression of approbasplention. 1932 AmSp 7.329 [Johns Hopkins jargon], The berries 1

.

.

—

Apersonacts important: "He seems 1965-70Z)/l.R£'(Qu.GG19b, ") Infs FL14, KY74, NY66, OH65, PA109, 175, The best society of a community) Infs IN76, The berries; (Qu. 1123, .

.

.

to think he's

.

MD23, Berries;

.

Where the well-offpeople //ve) Inf NY234, Words meaning very good) Inf NY234, The The berries]; (Qu. KKla, berries; (Qu. NN6a, Exclamations ofjoy) Inf MS64, This is the berries; "Very likable or popular') Inf MS 14, The berries. (Qu. KK2, [(Qu. 1124,

.

The

.

.

1960 Partridge Slang424, Berries, the. The extreme, whether of good or of bad; the limit: from ca. 1900. E.g. "It's the berries!" 1966-70 DARE (Qu. GG22a, When you have come to the end of your patience, you might ") Infs MT2, WI72, Berries; (Qu. say, "Well, that's the ") Inf IN60, Is the berries; "Well, that certainly GG22b, IN76, That's the berries; WI34, Ain't that the berries; [KY74, Takes the

[Prob from besom broom]

I'bizaml

Energy; zest. 1969 DARE (Qu. KK28, Feeling ambitious and eager to work) Inf NY 1 99, Full of besom ['bizam]. 1975 DARE File c,cnNY, A lackadaisical worker wasn't using enough besom; an over-exuberant small child was told "You have too much besom."

bespoke 1

adj

EDD

"Obsol. "] See quot. [Engl dial; 1899(1912)Green VA Folk-Speech, Bespoke

.

See barrel

berry n

A dollar. 1922 Lewis Babbitt 103, A fellow pulls down fifteen thousand berries a year. 1924 Marks Plastic Age 23 I'm nearly a hundred berries to the good. 1932 AmSp 7.329 [Johns Hopkins jargon], Berry a dollar. .

.

,

1

—

1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 559, 559. 16, Silver Dollar berry. 1967-69 in general: "He's certainly got the .

.

Dollars

.

.

Money

DARE (Qu. ")

a hundred

"It cost

.

.

1

Ibid,

berries.

U19a,

MO

Inf ")

.

.

Money

.

9, Berries;

Inf TNI

1,

particular party or dance.

bess

adj,

adv See best

bess beetle, bess bug, besse bug See betsy bug Bessie n See Betsy

1

1.

Used

1942 Sat. Eve. Post 7 Feb 14/ The menfolks couldn't leave the Bessie cow. Ibid 15/1, The new calf, lying on the clean straw beside the Bessie 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K80) Infs NY66, Come Bess; OK56, cow. PA242, Come, Bessie; (Qu. K81) Inf WA27. Ho, Bessie: GA33, So, Bessie, so; NJ35, Wo, Bessie; NJ25, Quiet, Betsy!; (Qu. K83) OK56, Come. Bessie: NY72. Come here. Bessie; FL20, Soo, Bess!; (Qu. K8) Inf ,

MO 16, Milk old Betsy. 3 also (old) Betsy; Transf: used as a name for an automobile. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. N5) InfsORl, Bessie; IL108, NC55, Betsy; C07, Old Betsy.

best .

.

A

rustic or countrified person) Inf

+

as in behind n

MI78,

rumpus] joe

DARE

1970 (Qu. X35, Joking words for the part of the body on) Inf MS86, Berumpus.

.

.

you

adj,

adv Pronc-spp

be standing v phr [Prob

stand up. 1906 DN 3. 26 nwAR, Be standing ... To stand up, 1

sitting posture).

bescrow and bescrew v

you

[Alter of beshrew]

NC Folkl.

1.519,

[be- as in

behind n

Bescrow and bescrew ... To

+

setter]

joe

buttocks. 1967 DARE (Qu. X35, Joking words for the part of the body

be standing, adj,

adv

I

will

[best

shall

now

to get up (from a be standing while we pray." "If read the charge to you."

we

all

+ -est]

1893 Shands MS Speech 19. Bestest [bestas]. Double superlative, formed from best. Used by negroes. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 9 eTX [Black], Of occasion in De Bottoms you kin fin' some of de bestes' preachuhs dat done evuh grace a pulpit. 1965 DARE Tape FL2 [Inf White], I like 'em raw bestest of all.

.

you

sit

.

1

be-shame' bush n Also be-ashamed [From its leaves when touched; cf shame briar and

its

habit of closing

DJE shamer] Cf

best

girl

See best

woman

best-goodest n [Redund: cf-est]

sensitive plant

A

mimosa. Folkl. 27.241

"be-shame'-bush." a weed.

—

"And now

.

.

on) Inf WA28, Besetter [ba'seta^].

Amer.

will

bestest

curse.

The

Jrl.

by imper be seated]

infl

To

bes' See best

1914

See Prone Intro 3.1.22

bess

bes',

Std senses, var forms. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69 [In a list of provincialisms to be avoided]. Bess, for best. 1905 Culbertson Banjo Talks 25 [Black], De linseywoolsey for ow' dress, / De cas'net clof fer Marster's bes'. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 289 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Bes'— best.

sit

bes See be Big

A

1

bessie bug See betsy bug

Berry picker.

Jbesetter n

name for a cow or calf. Cf boss n

as a

bessroot See bethroot

berry picker n 1968 DARE (Qu. HH1,

1952 Brown

Bewitched; conjured.

(Qu.

Berries.

berrying See burying

|berumpus n [beThe buttocks.

.

bespritzed adj [Ger bespritzen to squirt at, spray] 1935 AmSp 10. 169 [Among PaGer speakers], Spritz is in common use for 'sprinkle.' The man with the garden hose is spritzing his lawn, and if you go too close you are likely to get bespritzed.

1

berrin See burying

U20,

.

—

2 also Bess, Betsy:

.

.

2 also bespoken: Engaged (usu to be married), old-fash 1929 AmSp 5.124 ME, A girl who was engaged was "be-spoken." 1931-33 E4NE Worksheets ceMA, Bespoke Engaged to be married. "They're bespoke." 1933 AmSp 8.1.47 Ozarks, Bespoke, adj. Asked for, engaged. When a girl is described as bespoke it usually means that she is engaged to be married, but sometimes only that she has a date for a

berries].

berril

.

.

limit; the last straw.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2

.

.

.

did; perfect (used to indicate intense pleasure or superlative quality). .

Cf bashaw

n

=sablefish. in the 1884 Goode Fisheries U.S. 1.268 (DA). Black Candle-fish is called by the Indians 'Beshow.' 1887 Goode Amer. Straits of Fuca is generally known in Puget Sound by the Fishes 271, The Beshow name of "Horse-mackerel." 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 498, It [Anoplopoma fimbria] is the beshow.

besom n

the middle of the road

best maid

beslings See beaslings

bern See berm 3 tbernie ball n 1969 DARE Tape

/

1966

SC

[Black],

DARE (Qu.

The sensitive-plant is the MS47, "Be-ashamed"

S26) Inf

favorite.

1948 Hurston Seraph 30 wFL, best-goodest would you?

You wouldn't take and kill you

best lady, best maid See best

woman

[=your]

bestmost

bettersome

/

bestmost n [Redund One's

best

224

+ -most]

Cf bettermost

utmost. 1887 Scribner's Mag. 2.474 AR, But w'en she seen doctor war doin' best,

his

bestmost, she never said nary nuther word.

best room n Also best parlor old-fash

The

parlor (of a house). 1907 DN 3.181 seNH, Best room Old-fashioned front parlor, used only on formal occasions, such as the visit of the minister. 1941 LANE Map 323, Most New England houses built more than a generation ago have one 'best' room set aside for use on special occasions only best room [occurs infrequently]. 1950 WELS 1 Inf, ceWI, Best parlor Passed [out of use] with plush-covered furniture. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Best room Sometimes used instead offront room or parlor. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. D13, The room where you entertain company) Infs MA59, WV13, Best room. [Both Infs old] 1973 Allen LAUM 1.159, Three respondents in Minnesota and Iowa, of Ohio and Connecticut background, reported the use of best room, a minor variant .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

in

New

best

.

.

.

England.

woman

n Also best

~

girl,

lady,

~ maid

esp Midi

.

bet n bate

,

.

.

Usu

v

|bet|;

in

NEng, esp ME,

Pronc-sp

also |bett, be*t|

.

.

.

.

Betsy for a while, get her ready.

Std senses, var forms. 1861 Holmes Venner 2.181 wMA, The' won't be much iron on that hoss's huffs an haour after daylight, I'll bate ye a quarter. 1909 DN 3.408 neME, Bate ... To bet. 1914 £W4.69 ME, nNH, Bate, n. and v. Bet. 1943 LANE Map 590, 14 infs, chiefly ME, less freq sNH, eMA, Bet [be«, be>«].

%be\ n 2 [Short for alphabet) A letter of the alphabet. 1969 DARE Tape KY23, [With just one teacher for 60 or 70 pupils, we] done mighty well to ever learn to read our bets, you know.

bethroot n Also beth, bettroot, bessroot [Var of birthroot] Any of several trilliums, but esp Trillium erectum. 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora Trillium latifolium 96, Names Vulgar. Bethroot. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 10, Beth root, Trillium, Trillium pendulum. 1903 Small Flora SE U.S. 276, .

.

.

Trillium

.

.

.

.

Wake-robin. Birth-root. Bess-root.

.

Ibid 278, Trillium

1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 339, Next in T. erectum. 1968 popularity is the purple wakerobin or bethroot DARE (Qu. S2) Inf NY69, Beth. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 256, Trillium erectum Common Names: bethroot, betterectum

.

.

.

Beth.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

root.

betimes adv nEngl dial]

[

Alter of by times; cf

EDD beti mesadv. 2

,

Scots,

Ir,

Occasionally. 1926 Kephart Highlanders 289 wNC, eTN, They glance betimes with "a slow, long look of mild inquiry." 1930 AmSp 5.389 N Atl, Betimes now and then. 1941 Time 16 June 7 1/1, For the past ten years, Dolan has toiled in Hollywood, worked betimes on radio scripts for the Big Town series. .

.

A polecat

DARE (Qu.

P26) Inf LA26,

[.betpi'jfi];

LA34,

[,bet,pi'JD].

Betsey See Betsy Kibitzing.

1935 Hurston Mules

& Men 23 nFL [Black], All of those who were not

actually playing [Florida call

feller!"

2, 3.

DARE (Qu.

1966

NM9, Some

call

SI

1,

them

.

.

Other names

.

for

.

.

bachelor's button) Inf

Betsies.

betsy-beetle See betsy bug i Betsy

bread n [Betsy famil form of Elizabeth, used

domesticity,

+

to suggest

bread]

A

type of corn bread. 1970 DARE (Qu. HI 4, Bread that's made with cornmeal) Inf TN66, Betsy bread has baking powder and milk in it; baked in oven.

—

betsy bug n Also betsey bug, betsy beetle, bess ~ bess bug, bess(i)e ~ betty ~ Often in phr crazy as a ~ chiefly Sth, S Midi, esp AR, KY A rather large black beetle of the family Passalidae.

Also called

horn beetle, patent-leather beetle, pinch bug 1910 Blatchley Coleoptera 908 (DA), This well-known species, comas the 'horn' or 'bess-beetle,' occurs abundantly throughout the state [Indiana]. 1910 Harris Eve's Husband 234 (DA), A young congressman has to encourage them [his constituents] to ask for little things like sample betty-bugs to eat other bugs, garden seed [etc.] The Government furnishes the betty-bugs. 1931 Randolph Ozarks 101, The approved treatment for earache is to prick a "betsybug" with a pin, and put a drop of its blood in the ear. 1944 Harper's Mag. 88.373/2 IA, He always lived over the crick from us Crazy as a betsey bug most of the time. 1946 PADS 6.5 eNC (as of 1900- 10), Bessie bug ... A handsome black bug whose habitat is rotten wood. It is about one inch long. To children it seems to say "Bessie" when touched with a blade of grass Common among children. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Betty (or Betsy) bug any large beetle. "Jimmy caught a Betsy bug and put it down my back." 1964 Borror-DeLong Intro. Insects 382, These beetles are called by a variety of names bessbugs, betsybeetles [etc.]. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. R5) Inf AR42, Betsy bug; (Qu. R30)

monly known

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

—

Infs KY28, 47, Bess bug; AR5, 48, 51, KY34, Bessie bug; AR48, 52, GA84, KY28, LA2, 10, 15, SC46, TN6, Betsy bug. 1967 DARE FW Addit wNC, Crazy as a bess bug. cl 974 Jones Ozark Hill Boy 42 AR (as

of c 1930), I personally have been subjected to May apple root and senna tea for biliousness, besse bug blood for earache, sorghum molasses for sore eyes. 1981 Broaddus Coll. ceKY, Bess bug. .

flip]

were giving advice

better adj, n

.

[Infl

by adv

use, as in "It

is

better than a mile to

town"]

— "bet straightening"

a More; a longer period. 1914 DN 4.103 KS, Better More, as, when we have better time. 1931 PMLA 46.1306 Appalachians, He's been a-livin' here these six weeks an' better. .

.

bettermost adj Cf bestmost 1905

also Becky, Bessie, Betsey, freq prec by old: A shotgun or rifle. 1837 Smith Col. Crockett's Exploits 29, Well, I shouldered my Betsey, and she is just about as beautiful a piece as ever came out of Philadelphia,

.

b Later. 1967 Green Horse Tradin' 127 swTX, When I walked out onto the street it was better than dark and getting pretty chilly.

it.

Betsy n 1

.

In ref to time:

or skunk.

bet straightening ppl

they

.

.

bet-piyan n [Fr bete puante stinking animal] 1968

looks like a good season ahead!

It

2 A tool: see quot. 1927 DNS. All Ozarks, Betsey This term is applied to various tools and utensils, but applies chiefly to the big mallet used in driving fenceposts. "I'll take of betsey and jes' bust hell out o' thet 'ar [=that there]

.

beteling block See beetling block

.

.

4 See quot.

maid or matron of honor at a wedding. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. AA17, Other people beside the bride and groom in a wedding party) Infs KY40, NC49, PA57, TX26, Best woman; KS5, PA70, Best lady; IN26, VA27, Best girl; GA28, Best maid {changed to best woman). 1

.

.

3 See Bessie

A

.

and I went out to the shooting ground. 1856 Spirit ofAge (Sacramento) 4 Nov 3/1 (DA) CA, Jest let them raise that check agin me, and if I don't shoot why old Betsy won't blizzard. 1869 New No. West (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 20 Aug. 2/7 (DA), Mr. Fredericks proceeded immediately on the horse, loaded 'Betsey,' (his shot gun). 1946 Outdoors June 82/2 (DA), I'll just bet you old Betsy here against that machine-gun of yours that I can get off 25 shots faster'n you can! cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Betsey (or Old Betsey) One's gun; echo of pioneer times. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. P37b, A shotgun) 48 Infs, scattered, Old Betsy, AZ2, CA15, Betsy; NC41, Old Bessie, NJ16, Old Becky; (Qu. P37a, A rifle) Infs IA8, MN36, MO10, TX29, Betsy. 1971 WI Conserv. Bulletin SeptOct 8, Partridge are still with us. In fact, if you haven't shouldered old

DN 3.3 cCT, Bettermost Best. [better + -some] adj obs .

.

.

bettersome Better.

1843 ( 1 9 6) Hall New Purchase 1 36 IN, There's a and bettersome idee. 1

speretil [=spiritual]

better-to-do

225

better-to-do adj

[Compar of

She dipped snuff and used a birch what I think was bettywood toothbrush while doing so. This is the time white birch was needed to make a new tooth brush. It should have been called a snuff brush. I am positive Miss Bennett picked up the bettywood while in KenThe only two birches that I am familiar with is the white and tucky black. I am almost sure the bitterwood is a white birch or a spicewood bush when spoken of around here Recently I talked with a friend who remembers visiting his grandmother [about 1900] and the old lady asking someone to bring her a small limb from a bettywood tree. What she used the limb for, he does not know but he is positive of the bettywood being used as a name for some kind of birch. 1982 Ibid neKY (as of cl960). One of the nurses had heard a cousin speak of the "bitty-wood" tree. She lived in a nearby county to Bourbon I think Bath county. The tree had a nobby, rough bark, was never cut for lumber so might have been left for staking out fields. 1982 Ibid cwWV (as of cl920), Not most, but a considerable number of people in Roane County, W. Va., called sycamores "buttonwoods." I cannot remember a time when I did not know what they were, and I knew Aunt Catherine's old house, with two in the yard. She said "bettywood" in referring to them. say,

well-to-do]

Well-off.

1970 Wilhelm Last Rig 195 NV (as of cl865), There were no middleChinese in the very early days. There were the very poor and the

class

.

.

better-to-do.

bettie grass See betty grass

wood

bettie

See bettywood

betty n [Bettv famil form of Elizabeth, used to suggest domesticity]

1

See quot. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Betty

...

A

chamber-pot.

2 See quot.

l961DARE(Qu. JJla,

— when

Betty

I

was

.

.

A schoolteacher

.

.

a woman)

InfM All, The

in school. [Infold]

3 See bettywood. betty

bee martin n See bee martin

betty

bug See betsy bug

DARE FW Addit MA5, Bettyfuss— A fussbudget.

betty grass n Also sp bettie grass

.

.

.

.

.

betty martin See bee martin

Kentuckian.

I

remember when he staked out plots for certain vegetables

or in preparation of building pens or erecting a fence, he called the stakes

he used Betty

Sticks.

bettywood n Also

wood, betty

bettie

(tree), bitty

wood [Prob

by betty a word commonly sugg familiar Note: Betula, birch, has been considered, but evidence in

van of buttonwood, favor

weak.]

is

infl

esp

KY

Prob the sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), but the tree, once well known by this name, has not been conclusively identified. 1786-1804 Bourbon Co. KY Surveys Book A, [Letter of Edna T. Whitley: In pages 24-525, bettywood trees are so named 20 times (bettie wood once) as corner trees. No alternative name is given.]. 1798

KY

Bourbon Co. Rept. Processioners, Beginning at the corner of the settlement a buckeye which we marked with the letters B.B. [for B. Bedford, processioner] thence with the line of the patent 353 60 poles to a sycamore and elm in the edge of Stoner, thence crossing Stoner's fork at the end of such distance we marked a corner four Bettywoods .

.

N

.

.

1 Bettytree and sugar tree we marked with the letters S.C. [for Saml. Clay] thence North 54 East 157 poles to a

and sugartree and Buckeye,

hickory and buckeye, thence to the beginning corner, given under our hand this 2nd of April 1798. [Signed] 1958 KYFolkl. Rec. 4. 1.176, The .

.

was often named as a corner tree in early surveys. Some in Bourbon County were dated "July 1779" and were still standing when the tract was resurveyed in 1808. In one instance some sycamores were marked to indicate the corner where only the Bettywood stump remained. 1980 DARE File neKY, In 1807 one of two bettywoods in this county [Bourbon Co. KY] "dated July 1779" was still standing and the stump of the other was there, so a nearby sycamore was chosen as a corner tree for that survey in its place. Between 798 and 1817 the Bettywood

.

.

.

.

1

—

county surveyor used these trees as corners in local surveys ash 14 times, beech 8, bettywood 3, box elder 60, buckeye 222, cherry 17, sugar trees 277, sycamores 13, thorns 48, white thorns 5, white walnut and black walnut 76 ... As to its widespread use I tabulated the .

.

EDD betwattled "con-

and

std twaddle, twat]

Infatuated.

1927 AmSp 3. 35 ME, An excellent and common term was "betwaddled" or "betwattled after" someone, when a person was so in love as to be unable to use good judgement. 1968 DARE (Qu. AA10, A very special liking that a boy may have for a girl) Inf PA1 18, Betwaddled 1

1

1

.

.

markers, chain carriers etc. who knew the tree by that name [=bettywood] ... It was more than sixty, possibly eighty. 1981 Ibid Boone NC (as of c 1920), When I was a small chap, an old lady by the name of Miss Bennett lived part of the time with a great uncle and aunt [of mine] She made yearly trips to Kentucky and she is the one I remember using the word bettywood. Now I am thinking, could she and others have used the bitter wood for bettywood. But I can still hear her

names of surveyors,

.

between daylight and daylight adv phr During the night. Cf can't see

FW

betty stick n [Etym unknown, but cf bettywood] 1982 Smithsonian Letters ID, My grandfather was a transplanted

its

[Cf

1969 DARE Addit cn ANC, Between daylight and daylight: Night. Mildly humorous.

250, Betty-grass.

things.

.

2 (here: Aletris farinosa).

1892 (1974) Millspaugh Amer. Med. Plants 172, Aletris farinBettie Grass. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant ComfmonJ Names .

.

[bi'twadld].

A colicroot Names

.

fused, distressed, bewildered, stupid"

fussnBl]

osa

.

betwattled adj Also sp betwaddled

bettyfuss n [Cf OED betty sb. 2 "Given in contempt to a man who occupies himself with a woman's household duties" and 1967

.

.

.

bettroot See bethroot

between hay and grass

/

pilots,

.

between hawk and buzzard adv 1

At

twilight,

phr, adj phr

old-fash

1832 Kennedy Swallow Barn 1.6, I [=a Yankee] entered Richmond between hawk and buzzard the very best hour, I maintain, out of the twenty-four, for a picturesque tourist. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech 24, Between hawk and buzzard. The twilight hour. When it is too dark to tell a hawk from a buzzard.

—

[Virginia]

2 In a difficult or uncomfortable position. ?obs 1856 in 1958 Taylor- Whiting Diet. Amer. Proverbs, I declare, a body who has young ones, has no peace of her life. She's just between hawk and buzzard, as a body may say. 1866 Smith Bill Arp 48 GA, What satisfaction is there in living between hawk and buzzard?

between hay and grass adj phr Also between grass and hay 1 Between youth and adulthood; not fully mature. 1848 Mitchell Nantucketisms 40 (AmSp 10.40), Betwixt hay & grass,

& Manhood. 1857 Knickerbocker 49.38, Mace was a young shaver of fifteen and sixteen, just getting under way and learning the ropes a youth just between hay and grass. 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 208, The great importance which a crop of grass has for all stock-raisers and the Indians, whose very life depends on the buffaloes finding food and their horses pasture, has led to the use of the peculiar phrase in which the youth, who is no longer a boy and not yet a man is picturesquely said to be between grass and hay. 1891 Bunner Zadoc Pine 17 NY, He got a couple of eggs cooked for his private supper The eggs were, as he told Mr. Bryan, "kinder 'twixt grass and hay." 1905 D.\ 3.3 cCT, Between hay and grass. 1933 Williamson Woods Colt 77 Ozarks, Jest a kid, but at the same time she's growin' up, too. Them legs o' her'n is as big as a woman's. She's between hay an' grass, an' maybe more grass than hay, but grass cures fast, this time o' between Boyhood .

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

1968 Adams Western Words. Between seasons of plenty, hence,

year.

2

in a difficult or

uncomfort-

able position.

1939

FWP Guide MT41 3. Between hay and grass — In difficult times,

when hay is gone and grass has not come up. 1968 Words, Between hay and grass The time between winter and spring, when hay has gone and grass has not yet come up. Difficult times. Also between grass and hay, between summer and as in early spring,

—

Adams Western

winter.

3 See quot.

.

1928 Ruppenthal

Coll.

KS, Between hay and grass

nite: inconclusive; colorless.

.

.

.

Vague;

indefi-

—

7

,

between jobs

/

226

bezzler

between jobs n [Prob by analogy with trademark Between Acts a small cigar, 1948 1967 DARE (Qu. DD7, .

—

.

about like a cigarette between calls on stores. cigar;

the

»]

Cigars) Inf SC34, Between

Jobs— a

short

— traveling salesmen used to smoke them + -st,

prob

infl

by betwixt]

1887 (1967) Harris Free Joe 154 ceGA, Yonder's the Yankees on one side, and here's the blamed niggers on t'other, and betwixt and betweenst 'em a white man's got mighty little chance. 1942 Rawlings Cross Creek 223 nFL, Now you let 'em stand three to seven days. I cain't tell you which, nor what day in betweenst.

between you and me and the post adv phr Also between you and me and the gatepost, ~ lamp post Secretly; in confidence.

1796 in 1972 Tyler Prose 209 VT, I heard Ben Burgler whisper "That was a cursed treaty Between you and I, and the post.'" 1833 Neal Down-Easters 1.23 ME, Between you' an' me an' the post. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 19 IN, But / say, atwixt you and me and the gate-post, don't you never believe nothing that Mirandy Means 1887 (1967) Harris Free Joe 156 ceGA, And I tell you what, says. gener'l, betwixt you and me and the gate-post, it's done come to that pass where a man can't afford to be too plegged particular. 1941 AmSp 16.21 sIN, MO, Between you and me and the gatepost (lamp post). 1966 Barnes-Jensen Did. UT Slang 5, Between you and me and the gate post confidentially. 1982 DARE File cwMA (as of 19 5), Between you and me and the gatepost was used to mean "in confidence." .

—

.

1

1

.

betwixt prep Also twix(t) See Map

scattered, but chiefly Sth,

S Midi

Coll. .

.

cwTN, Betwixt-an '-betweentimes

.

.

Also

.

'twixt-

Meanwhile.

.

Beulah land n Also Beulah shore [See Isaiah 62:4] As a synonym for heaven or the Promised Land: a place of perfection or happiness; also used ironically.

ME (as of cl860), They got to Venice next came to anchor at noon in Beulah Land ... If you had asked any Yankee wife in the middle of the nineteenth century 1939 Coffin Capt. Abby 129

day, September 20, and

—

what her idea of heaven was after Saturday night, baked beans, and the whole family gathered around them she would have answered Venice. 1955 Warren Angels 49 VA (as of cl855), You gentlemen know how a will begins you all being the kind of gentlemen having estates to set in order before taking out for the Beulah shore. 1956 Settle O Beulah Land [title] WV. 1967 DARE (Qu. C35, Nicknames for the different parts of your town or city) Inf TNI 1, Beulah land old fashioned for colored section of Jonesboro TN. 1982 Milwaukee Jrl (WI) 26 Sept mag sec 22, What a Beulah Land of single-class plutocracy this country would be!

—

—

—

beunt See be Cla

ibewhisker n

A

whisker. 1967 DARE (Qu.

GG1 3b, When

something keeps bothering a person "It me. ") Inf C034, Scares

and makes him nervous, hemaysay, your bewhiskers up.

bewitchness n

Between. 1871 (1892) Johnston Dukesborough Tales 70 GA, No difficulties betwixt you and me, nor betwixt me and Miss Larrabee not even betwixt me and Rum. 1887 ( 1 967) Harris Free Joe 113 ceGA [Black], .

.

You can't spat a man harder betwixt the eyes than to set back an' not break bread wi' 'im. Ibid 151, It look like I run inter all de gul'twix' dis en Marse Tip's. 1940 Esquire 14.44/1 neKY, I'll let 'im lies have it betwixt the eyes. 1942 Sat. Eve. Post 22 Aug 42/2 NC, Thar wuz an enjoyment betwixt 'em that gimme grief. 1946 AmSp 21.96 sIL, Words that we have in common with Appalachia betwixt. 1953 PADS 19. 14, 'Twixt Still in use in extremely isolated sections of the mountains of Kentucky. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Just betwixt you and me. [Used by very old people.] 1965-70 DARE (Qu. MM7, // there's a house on each side of the school you'd say, "The school is the houses. ") 42 Infs,' esp Sth, S Midi, Betwixt; FL48, MA6 NY209, TNI 4, 20, TX97, Twixt; AR47, DC3, DEI, IN38, MA5, Betwixt and between; TN46, 'Twixt and between; GA31, Twix; (Qu B8, When clouds come and go all day, you say it's ) Inf WV5, Betwixt and between. .

Meanwhile. an'-'tweentimes

Between.

.

betwixt and betweentimes adv For var see quot 1954 Harder

betweenst adv, prep [between

.

1968 DAREFW Addit nePA, "I'm doing betwixt and betweens" means "I'm doing jobs of little importance."

Witchcraft. 1951 Craig Singing Hills 169 WV, The legs of Josiah Smith's calf had been frozen and it had died, but Josiah said it was bewitchness.

bex

[Alter of vex]

hence bex(ed) ppl adj Cf Prone Intro 3.1.

v,

speakers

among Black

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Std senses, var forms. gone to him house 1 888 Jones Negro Myths 44 G A coast, Buh Snake gone back on eh prommus. 1922 in de swamp berry bex case de man Gonzales Black Border 289 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Bex— vex, vexes, vexing; angry, anger, angers, angered, angering. 1970 DARE .

.

(Qu.

GG3,

.

.

—

.

.

(that little one). ") Inf

"See those big boys trying to

It's vex, but we say bex; (Qu. GG4, Stirred up SC68, Bex ") Inf SC68, Bexed. saw them coming he got

.

.

"When he

1

bexie See bec-scie

beyond

prep, adv Pronc-spp beyend and, chiefly Sth,

S Midi,

beyant, beyent, beyon, beyonst, beyont

Std senses, var forms. 1818 Fessenden Ladies Monitor 171 NEng [In a list of provincialisms to be avoided], Beyend for beyond. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69 [In a list of provincialisms to be avoided], Beyant, for beyond. 1866 in 1944 ADD MA, Beyend. 1891 in 1944 ADD WV, Beyent. 1893 Shands MS Speech, Beyant ... A common form used by illiterate whites for beyond. 1898 Deland Old Chester 166 PA, My wife wants to see you. beyont. 1916 DN 4.347 nTX (as of 1896), She's in Beyond. 1931 Scribner's Mag. 89.453/2 FL, Iffen they do Beyonst float, they'll dreeft on beyant where we could ketch 'em at. 1 933 in 1 944 ADD KY, s,c,nWV, Beyon. Usual. 1945 Hench Coll. cVA, Just beyant "The 1965-70 DARE (Qu. MM4, this hill was Mr. Shiflett's farm. the pine tree.") Infs MD17, NC41, [bi'jaent]; mail box is just MA5, Beyant Irish Molly; TN12, Beyont country people; VA15, Beyont; TX97, Beyonst. .

.

.

.

—

bezabor n [Perh

.

—

for

gazabo guy,

fellow]

See quots. 1930 AmSp 6.97

betwixt a balk and a breakdown adj phr =fair to middling. 1884 Harrison Negro Engl. 269 Sth, 'Twix er bauk en' er breakdown so-so (of health).

betwixt and between n

A temporary or insignificant task between more important jobs.

cNY (as of cl830), Bezabor: a peculiar character. "He's a queer old bezabor." 1940 Sat. Eve. Post 10 Feb 88/1 (as of 1836), [A circus clown speaking to a lion:] "Lay down, you big bezabor, here

I

come."

bezzler n

[EDD

"anything very large of its kind"] A 'big-gun'; one who thinks himself, or is a

1903 DN 2.349, Bezzler person of importance.

.

.

.

B from

227

B from

quot 1908;

know

v phr For varr see quots [See B 1.2 quot 1401, "I know not an A from the ne a B from a bole foot"] now chiefly Sth, Midi

(a) bull's foot, not to

cWED

wyndmylne, See Map Cf A from B, not

to

know and

DS JJ

5b

.

.

.

.

.

bug

MM

.

") 35 Infs, chiefly Sth, you very stupid: "He doesn't know B from (a) bull('s) foot; FL22, 26, NC2, B from bully; IL96, SC32, B from bull; TX40, B from bat's foot; TX19, B from bull's ass; AL5, B from bullfrog; AR55, B from bullshit.

to

Midi,

.

2 Askew, awry. 1910 DARE (Qu. MM13, The table was nice and straight along and knocked it ) Inf VA46, Bias.

until he

came

bias road n See quot 1950. 1950 PADS 14.13 SC, Bias road, a road leading off at an acute angle from the main road. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, You turn at a bias road and go left.

bias-ways adv =bias 1.

DARE (Qu.

1968

.

.

Bible

/

1965-70 DARE (Qu. MM15, If a carpenter nails a board crossing another board at an angle, you might say, "He nailed the board on ") Infs C04, IL126, MD26, Bias; (Qu. 16, If you're walking with somebody to the other corner of a square you might say, 'It '11 ") Inf MD26, Walk bias acrost. be shorter if we .

be ignorant or illiterate. 1792 Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry 49 Philadelphia PA, For there were persons there who scarcely knew a B from a bull's foot. 1832 Paulding Westward Ho 1.101 VA, You don't know a B from a buffalo's foot. 1834 Life Andrew Jackson 1 14, They begin'd with confidence 'sposen the gineral didn't know B from broomstick in the science of war. [1843 (1916) Hall New Purchase 321, Big and little colleges were erected by persons who, in all matters pertaining to "high larnin," had not sufficient discrimination to know the second letter of an alphabet from a buffalo's foot.] 1856 Whitcher Bedott Papers 308 cNY, He don't know B from a broomstick, nor bran when the bag's open. 1908 DN 3.327 Used in negative expressions to eAL, wGA, Know Bfrom bull('s) foot The foot- or track-print of a indicate one's ignorance or illiteracy bull is somewhat like the letter B. 1912D/V3.581 wIN. 1915ZW4.184 swVA. 1923ZW5.243LA. \921 AmSp 2.359 WV, That driver doesn't know B from bull's bag about loading his wagon. 1942 AmSp 17.130 sIN, Don't know B from bull's foot. Ibid 172 sIL, He doesn't know B A person who seems from a bull's foot. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. JJ 1 5b, .

know

'

1

To

.

(a) bull's foot, not to

MD17,

MM

15,

.

.

"He

nailed the board on

")

Inf

Bias- ways.

bibbed overalls See bib bibble v [Cf

OED bib v,

overall(s)

arch

bibble v]

To

drink as ducks drink. 1 683 in 1 960 Taylor Poems 1 3 MA, Let Conscience bibble in it with her Bill. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bibble ... To drink like a duck. "Ducks bibbling in the water." Bible n Biblical injunction or authority.

1898 Westcott Harum 162 nNY, Peleg Hopkins grumbled audibly when he was requested to build the fires on Christmas day, and expressed his

opinion

that, "if there warn't Bible agin

workin' on Chris'mus, the' 'd

ort ter be."

bible-back n

quot 1903.

also adj bible-backed: See

1

old-fash

1912 Thornton A mer. Gloss. 60, We might, in consequence [of lack of funds], become somewhat round-shouldered and "biblebacked. " 1894 Frederic Marsena 103 nNY, He was a man of more than fifty, I should think, tall, lean, and what Marcellus called "biblebacked." 1903 2.349 seNY, neNJ, Bible-back ... A round-shoul-

1857

in

DN

dered,

hump-backed person.

2 See quot.

from (a)

•B

bull's foot, not to

know

1938 varr

+

(Qu. JJ15b)

AmSp

13.160,

1

myself am hunting for a word other than

back' to describe an uncomfortable,

'bible-

or straight-back chair.

stiff

A pious or sanctimonious person, often derog 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 327. 2, Sanctimonious person. Bible back. 1964 PADS 42.35 Chicago IL, More specific epithets [for a

3

bhene See benne b'hin' See behind prep

bible-back and anti-Cathof which were given by Irish Catholics. 1967 DARE (Qu. Inf WA20, Bible backs good religious people.

Protestant] include bigoted Protestant

b'hoy n [Representing

Irish

prone of toy]

olic

also bo-hoy: A rowdy young man. 1846 Knickerbocker 27.467 MD, A smile on his lips peculiar to one of the bo-hoys. 1859 (1922) Jackson Col. 's Diary 21 cwPA, The former teacher they turned off, or rather the "bhoys" were too many for him. 1866 Atlantic Mth. 18.727/1 NYC, "I want," said the stranger, "to see a b'hoy, arealb'hoy." 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang46\J, Desperado: thug b'hoy. 1

—

.

2

A

political

.

henchman.

b'hoys.

,

[From Bialystok Poland]

|bi'ali|

chiefly in

Jewish

set-

tlement areas

See quot 1970. 1968 New Yorker 24 Aug 63,

[Allen] Ginsberg's stepmother, Edith,

was

banger n Also Bible

ranter,

~

reader,

~

.

.

.

.

.

.

than a hole and

bias adv, adj

is filled

[OED

.

,

.

,

spout er,

1

~

beater,

~

pounder,

thumper,

~

toter

~

with onion

~

fanatical or zealous religious person or lay preacher. 1897 Barrere-Leland Slang 1.105/1, Bible-pounder (popular), a parson. 1927 DN 5.438 [Underworld jargon], Bible-ranter a preacher, the most despised person on earth from the tramp's viewpoint. 1931 PML4 46. 1 3 1 Appalachians, Bible-reader (preacher). 1940 Sun (Baltimore MD) 13 Feb 1 1/3 wNC (Hench Coll.), O'Connell said the judge was "a Bible-toter that wants to make a speech." 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 327.7, Preacher Bible pounder, -puncher or thumper, Bible ranter, Bible reader. 1955 Stong Blizzard 1 1 9 IA, More of these Bible-spouters like Abe Jamieson ought to read that book [=Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. CC10, An unprofessional, part-time lay preacher) Infs .

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

CA209, IL78, IN 13, Bible banger; AL41, Bible beater; NY 10, Bible puncher; PA209. Bible thumper. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes, Bible pounder A street corner preacher; reformer.

—

Bible-book n [Pleonastic formation] 1952 Brown NC Folk!. 1.520, Bible-book

.

.

.

Bible.— West[ern NC].

Illiterate.

flakes.

"Obs. exc. of dress"]

Diagonally; catercornered.

.

puncher,

often derog

A

.

of bagels, bialy, lox, cream cheese, Kinds of bread) Inf and scrambled eggs. 1968 DARE (Qu. HI 8, NY1 19, Bialies. [Inf Jewish] 1970 Feinsilver Yiddish 357, Bialys a short bilingual plural for bialystoker beygel, the type of bagels made in Bialystok The dough is softer and chewier than that of the authentic bagel and has a floury finish. Also, the center is a depression rather in the kitchen fixing a big breakfast

.

.

—

bible-backed See bible-back Bible

.

all

.

bialy n

1

CC4)

.

.

1938 Sun (Baltimore MD) 10 Sept 3/4-5 (Hench Coll.), City Hall B'hoys [on a sign used in a political campaign]. 1953 Sun (Baltimore MD) 20 July 28/6 (Hench Coll.), [Headline] All is confusion for the

.

.

Cf catabias

Bible bug n [Cf Exod 10:12-19] See also ferro 1969 DARE (Qu. R8, Other kinds of creatures that make a chirping or

measure

biblical

/

biddy

228

shrilling or clicking sound) Inf KY2

8-10

years, holler

measure n [Cf Deut

biblical

An

Bible bug "Pharaoh" over and over. 1

,

25:15,

—

billions of

'em every

Oonalashka are infinitely superior to those of any other island. Ibid 378, He got about on sea in a seal-skin kayak or baidarka. 1965 Chevigny Russian America 33, The Aleuts were as amphibious as human beings can be. Their canoe, to which the Russians gave the name baidarka was a wonderfully unsinkable contraption. 1965 Alaska Sportsman Nov 81 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), The traditional boat of the Aleutian Islands is the bidarrah. The frame is tied together for flexibility in rough water, but oil-treated canvas has replaced sealion skins for covering. 1975 AKMag. Jan 37 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), My favorite discovery, though, was the big company-built bidars used to transport freight from supply boats through the shallow water to the dock.

6:10]

equitable amount.

.

.

DARE (Qu.

1969

LL28,

.

.

Entirely full) Inf

MA58,

Biblical measure.

bib overall(s) n Also bibbed overalls, bib pants, bibs Pronc-sp bib overhauls chiefly Inland Nth, Midi, West See Map

N

Work

trousers

which have shoulder

and a

straps

bib-like piece

covering the chest. 1902 (1969) Sears Catalogue 1 154, Conductors' or Mail Agents' Bib Overalls. 1935 Sandoz Jules 346 wNE (as of 880 - 930), He bought a 1

,

biddable adj [bid to command, enjoin

1

pair of bib overalls that never quite hid his innate elegance.

DARE(Qu. W9,^4 work garment,

.

.

Micah

1965-70

usually of blue cloth, covering the legs Infs, chiefly Inland Nth,

N

and sometimes the chest, worn byfarmers) 64

Midi, West, Bib overall(s); 19 Infs, Bib overhauls; CA87, 94, KY44. Bibbed overalls; DE2, Bib pants; CA94, OR 13, WA18, Bibs. 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 8 Appalachians, Bibs High-front overalls. "Zack wears his bibs to cut the corn." .

.

.

+

-able; orig Scots]

S Midi

chiefly Sth,

Obedient, tractable, docile; hence biddableness tractability. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Biddable. This Irish word is in use in the West. "White servants are not biddable," that is, manageable, obedient to order. 1886 Amer. Philol. Assoc. Trans. 17.36, Biddable, "obedient, tractable." Biddableness, disposition to obey ... I have been familiar with the word in this sense in South Carolina all my life, and it is so used in East Tennessee. Georgia, and no doubt elsewhere (Ohio). 1890DA1.69LA. 1914 FurmanSight 1 KY, I hain't only got these fine store-teeth and a tamed and biddable stummick. 1923 DA' 5.201 swMO. 1935 (1944) Rawlings Golden Apples 333 FL, You'll have to bless her out now and agin, but on the whole she's biddable. 1951 West Witch Diggers 7 sIN, Pretty girl. Clever and biddable too. .

.

1

biddy n [Orig uncertain: perh imif, perh rel to biddy n 2 ] often used as a call, chiefly NEng, 1 A mature chicken; a hen 1

—

SAtl Spirit of the Times 9 Sept (1912 Thornton), The way that factory Masonic Hall turns out the chickens [by steam heat] is a caution to to keep "biddies." 1857 (1862) Colt U 'entto KS 228 KS, The fence the "biddies" from roaming, is being built. 1894 VT State Bd. Ag. Report 14.175. Hang up a head of cabbage and let the hens pick it, or throw in a few apples to supply biddy with green food. 1907 DA' 3.181 seNH. 1939 LANE Map 213 neMA, [bidtz], affectionate term for hens. Ibid Map 214 csCT, [Biddy] a mother hen.' Ibid Map 227 throughout NEng, Bidfdiej is used in calling both hens and chickens, but some informants limit it to hens. 1949 Kurath WordGeog. 65, Calls to Chickens Biddie' (widdie!) occurs in three separate areas: ( ) from the Connecticut Valley eastward to Cape Cod and Maine, (2) from southern Delaware southward to Cape Charles, and (3) in North Carolina and on the Peedee. 1965-70 DARE(Qu.K72, When the hen stops laying and begins to sit on the eggs to hatch them, she's a ) Inf NV8. Cranky biddy; (Qu. K79, How do you call the chickens to you at feeding time) 6 Infs, chiefly S Atl, NEng, Biddy (biddy) (biddy). 1973 1

844

at the

.

•bib overall(s) +

varr

(Qu.

W9)

infl

by dicker]

.

haggle, bargain.

1967-70 DARE (Qu. U12, If you were buying something and you argued with the person selling it till you made him lower the price, you might say, "I ")InfsCA32, 163, IL126, NY 163, 201. Bickered; MN28, Bickered with him; PA27, Bickering. bicycling n

one foot down or under surcingle, while 'scratching' with the spur on the other foot, and then alternating. 1944 Adams Western Words, Bicycling The act. when riding a bucking horse, of scratching with first one foot and then

—

the other in the

manner of riding

a bicycle.

bid n

A

1

.

L4UAI

csMN,

1.255

Setting hen

.267, Calls to chickens at feeding

1

southern Iowans use

2

it,

as does

1968Z).4/?£(Qu. KK35, When someone wants to pass on a compliment exchange for one about himself, he says, "I have a for

to you, in

PA 126,

Bid.

(pi),

bidarrah

[Russ baidara,

A boat with a wood, or sometimes bone, frame covered with seal and having one or more openings

in

which the

sit.

Acct.

they so active upon the water. 1867 The Esquimaux (Libbysville, Port Clarence AK) 7 Apr 31 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), Mr. Sergie Stepanoff accompanied the Major thus far in his three hole baidarka (skin canoe). 1886 Turner Contribs. 96, The natives of the present day cross pretty well to the north side of the pass until they get under Amlia Island and then run near the shore of Amlia with their small bidari or open boats. 1939 Guide 336, The baidars or boats of .

.

AK

FWP

AK

setting biddy.

[1 inf:]

Ibid .

.

3

term biddy is applied with some reason to the henlike, ruffed grouse (Cape Cod, Mass.), but rather wildly to such species as the ruddy duck (Wis.) and the least sandpiper (beach biddy, Fla.). 1955 AmSp 30. 8 1 Biddy duck (ruddy duck, Minn.). ,

biddy n [Dimin of Bridget, infl by biddy n ] chiefly Nth, N Midi, West freq used disparagingly, esp of an elderly, gos1 A woman 1

—

woman.

1867 Holmes Guardian Angel 233 NEng, Don't trouble yourself about The Biddies are all alike, and they're all as stupid as Kitty Fagan owls, except when you tell 'em j ust what to do, and how to do it. A pack of priest-ridden fools! 1950 WELS (Uncomplimentary names and nicknames for a woman) 3 Infs, WI, (Old) biddy; (Joking names that a man may use to refer to his wife) 1 Inf, csWI, Biddy. 1951 Collier's 10 Feb 22/1, Charley had met an old biddy named Zoe Winthrop. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. AA7b, A woman fond of men not respectable about it) Inf NY24 1 Bad biddy; (Qu. AA22, Joking names that a man may use .

.

.

Exped. 176 AK, The customs of these savages are nearly allied to those of the Oonalashkans. They have the same kind of instruments, darts, and boats, or baidars; but much worse made; nor are

1802 Sauer

.

Biddy and come biddy,

.

Any of var wild birds. AmSp 28.277, The familiar

.

bidar n Also sp baidar(ka), bidari dimin baidarka] AK skin or canvas

.

.

1953

sipy, or dissolute

bidaciously See bodaciously

rowers

.

2

trade-last.

you.") Inf

.

one southern Minnesotan.

1

See bid whist.

£2

.

1

Allen

Among rodeo cowboys: see quots. 1941 FWP Guide WY 459. Bicycling — Holding

1

.

4

bicker v [Ext of bicker to argue, wrangle, prob

To

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

NE 1 1 NY96, (Old) biddy; (Qu. GG 1 4, Somewho fusses or worries a lot) Inf RI15, Old biddy; (Qu. always poking into other people's affairs "She's an Person GG36a, ")InfsLA32,NH15,NY18,OR6,(Nosy)oldbiddy;(Qu. awful HH1 lb, Someone who is too particular or fussy— if it's a woman) Infs Words .for a woman, not MN15, SC40, Old biddy; (Qu. HH34, necessarily uncomplimentary) Infs CA107, WA3, Biddy; NM4, Old biddy; (Qu. HH36, A careless, slovenly woman: "She's just an old to refer to his wife) Infs

,

.

one

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

a

biddy

229

MI88, MA68, Biddy; (Qu. JJ la, 10, NH10, NY21 1, Old biddy;

") Infs

woman)

.

CA1

Infs

A schoolteacher—

.

ME 19,

bid whist n Also bid

Biddy.

Blacks

1939FWP Guide MT4\3, Biddy— [An] aged and toothless ewe. Adams Western Words, Biddy — A sheepman's name for an old 1970

1968 ewe.

derog .

An

.

Inf CA190, Biddy.

man)

old

biddy n 3 Pronc-spp beady, beedie [Prob coalescence of biddy n

and beedie of Afr

S

A

origin, akin to

Kongo

bidibidi a bird]

1

chiefly

Atl

young or newly hatched chicken. DN 3.290 eAL, wGA. 1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary

1908

My

among

chiefly

trump. Culbertson Card Games 184, Whist Variants— Bid 1952 Whist Setback Bid Whist. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. DD35, Card games) 29 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, Bid whist. [24 of 29 Infs Black] 1981 DARE File Chicago IL [Black], We always used to play Bid, Gin, and Spades in High School. Bid Whist is like bridge, except you only bid once and there isn't a dummy. 1982 Walker Color Purple 213 GA (as of c 1930s) [Black], Us sit by the fire with Harpo and Sofia and play a hand or two of bid whist, while Suzie Q and Henrietta listen to the radio. .

DARE (Qu. HH40,

Sth, esp

S Midi

Sth,

chiefly

Map

A variation of the card game whist in which players bid to name

2 See quots.

3 See quot.

See

biffy

/

1 1 1

.

.

.

.

SC

blue hen stole a nest in de chimney corner and hatched dese beedies'. 1930 DA' 6.84 cSC. 1949 Turner Africanisms 237, The following are a few of the many onomatopoetic expressions heard in 'bidi'bidi 'a small bird'; 'a small chicken.' Cf. the Kongo word Gullah: [Gullah],

.

lil

.

bidibidi 'a bird.'

Dog

1952 in 1958 Brewer

Ghosts 29

TX

[Black],

ebun down to settin' de hens an' lookin' out attuh de liT biddies dev done hatched. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1966-69 DARE Tapes GA25, NC6, Biddv [=babv chicken]. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. K79) Inf GA77, Beady-beady-beady; ") Inf NC38, Push little "He's mean enough to (Qu. HH22c, biddies in the creek. 1968 DARE FW Addit LA32, Biddy = a baby-

Unkuh Aaron hab to 'ten'

.

to de chickens hisse'f,

.

chick.

biddy bridle n [biddy n 2 ] See quot 1939. 1939 FWP Guide

MT

413, Biddy bridle— Old-fashioned bridle with 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 1 1 7, 'Bout the only bridle a cowhand was shy of was a "biddy bridle," what he called a bridle with blinders as sometimes used by a nester who couldn't afford a ridin' bridle, but used the same one on hossback that he used on his plow hoss. "blinders."

biddy-hen n [biddy n 1] Cf broody =biddy n 1. 1907 DN 3.181 seNH, Biddy-hen ... In children's language, a hen. 1942 Sun (Baltimore MD) 3 Nov 12/3, On my part of the "[Eastern] 1

1

Shore" a "biddy" was an old hen that all the folk spoke of as "that biddy hen." 1968 DARE (Qu. K72, When the hen stops laying and begins to sit on the eggs to hatch them, she's a ) Inf MD29, Biddy-hen.

biddy kin n [biddy n + -kin dimin stiff] 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.520, Biddykin ...

=

A

little

person; a

little

Biddy may be related to Gaelic bideach, "very small"; thus biddykin would be a double diminutive. Harnett "little."

—

county.

biddy-peck

To

v,

hence biddy-pecked ppl adj

nag, hen-peck.

adv [Echoic]

biff

With a

.

Mt. Folkl. 90, Biddy-peck

.

— to nag mildly.

biddy pen n Also biddy coop

[biddy n

1

M

1

coop.

biddy's eyes n

1847 (1962) Robb Squatter Life 137 MO, 1924 DA' 5.263, Exclamations

smeller.

.

(here: Viola tricolor).

1900 Lyons Plant Names 394, V. tricolor. Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 326, Pansy

1931 This species has a multitude of common names, among which are Biddy's Eyes, Cat's Faces, Garden Gate, etc This species is common in waste places. .

.

Biddy's-eyes.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bide v [Aphet form of abide]

v Also sp bif

To

DA 4. 158 cVA (as of

1901 -07), Bide ... .

bide a 1918

.

v phr [Scots]

DA 5.20 seNC,

.

.

.

Bearable, tolerable.

old-fash

Bide a wee, stay a while.

alongside his

[biff adv.

echoism]

scattered, but esp Sth,

S

DN

1.72 Boston

MA.

1892 DA" 1.214, Bif.

.

or

biff.

"Current

.

he biffed me. Jimmie's got two wonderful black eyes as a result. 1955 PADS 23.1 Sth, Bifffi ... To hit or strike a marble with a taw. 1956 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, Biff. To strike a blow, hit. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. Yl 1, A very hard blow) Infs GA44. NCI 8, Biffed him one; 1

.

.

Biff.

n

biff

Also sp bif

1

scattered, but esp Sth,

adv]

[biff

S Midi

A

sharp or quick blow. 1890 DA' 1.72. Bif usually a noun, meaning 'a quick blow.' Philadelphia. Common in Boston "To give one a biffin the ear." 1897 KS Univ. Qrly. 6.85 MO, Biff: a blow. 1904 ( 1 968) Lynde Grafters 368, But Hawk's next biffwas more to the purpose. 1905DA3.60NE. 1908 DN 3.290 eAL, wGA. 1909 DN 3.392 nwAR. 1947 Sat. Eve. Post 1 5 Mar 146/3 TN, Giving her a good biff on the nose might create the erroneous idea that he was a bull v. 1969 DARE (Qu. Yl 1, A very hard blow) InfAll 108, Biff. 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

n

biff

2

.

+ -able] Bideable

biff,

after

To

.

DN 5.201 swMO, wee

him.

Biff (sound of blow with

among students in the South, meaning 'to strike.' It is used oftenest in the game of marbles." 1895 DN 1.396 seNY. 1905 DA' 3.60 NE. 1906 DN 3.1 15 sIN. 1908 DN 3.290 eAL, wGA. 1909 DN 3.392 nwAR. 1910 McCutcheon Rose 337 NY, Jimmie Parsons tried to stop him

1968

endure. "Ah can't bide cats." 1923 DA' 5.20 1 swMO, Bide To bear, to endure. "I caint bideasquallin'young-un." 1968-70 DARE (Qu. 1129a, An unexplainable dislike [for] a person: "I don 't know whv, but I just can 't him. ") Infs M04, NY234, Bide.

1923

.

(someone or something).

strike or hit

1890

%2 By

tolerate or endure.

bideable adj [bide

hit

I .

fist).

biff

.

Johnny-jump-up

.

v

(Qu.Y14a. To hit somebody hard with thefist)lnkMD29,YA90,'WU3,

]

chicken coop. 1968 DARE (Qu. 6, The small shelter for a hen that can be moved about from place to place) Infs GA22, NC49, Biddy pen; GA22, Biddy

1914

,

.

A

To

1

short, sharp blow.

.

A

See also biff n

.

DARE (Qu.

AA21, A wife who gives the orders and a husband who takes them from her) Inf NC86, Biddy-pecked. 1972 Cooper NC 1970

bier See bar n 3

Midi

1

chicken. Suffix kin

bie See bee v

biffy

See

ext: a

.

black eye. X20. A black eye) Inf OH70, Biff

DARE (Qu.

.

.

See biffy

n Also biff [Etym unknown]

chiefly

Upper

MYV and

\VI

Map euphem

A

toilet, spec:

a

An

outdoor

toilet,

outhouse.

WELS (An outside toilet building) 6 Infs, WI, Biffy; Inf, cwWI, Biff. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. M2 b, An outside toilet building) 4 Infs, chiefly Upper MW and WI, Biffv; MN42, Biff. 1968 DARE FW Addit 1950

1

1

.

.

1

big

bug

big

/

230

—

swVA, Biffy an outhouse. Old-fashioned. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.181 MN, cwND, SD, Privy ... [7 infs:] Biffy. b An indoor toilet. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 84.11, Parts of houses Toilet Biffy. 1950 WELS (An indoor toilet) 1 Infs, WI, Biffv; Inf, csWI, Biff. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. F37, An indoor toilet) Infs AK3, MN33, 42, PA74, WI29, 47, Biffy; MN34, 42, Biff. 1973 .

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

LA UM

.

nwMN,

celA, Privy ... [2 infs:] Biff. 1975 Bellow Humboldt's Gift 239 Chicago IL, I leaned against the partition of the biffy in the county building trying to get light from above on her letter. Allen

1

.

1

8

1

big adv

Very, exceedingly. 1890 in 950 PADS 1 3.4 GA, Well, my brother Ben lives over there and he's got big rich. 1898 Lloyd Country Life 195 AL, It aint much probable that I will ever git big rich or run for congress. Ibid 204, Sometimes I would get good tired and big lazy and swear eternal disgust for the farm. 1906 DN 3. 126 nwAR, Big rich Wealthy. "He's big 1

1

.

.

.

rich."

To

2

a high degree.

1939-41 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, me." "Sing big

real big at

"I'll

this time!"

divide with you big." "She smiled

1970

DARE Tape IL1 15,

1

have

pointer that's a big goin' dog; he goes real big. He'll go a mile, but he'll check in on ya an' if he gets on a point, he will stay there.

a

.

.

big

hence bigged ppl adj

v,

To make

pregnant, [big adj 1] chiefly Sth, S Midi 1917DA4.408 wNC,SC. 1932 (1974) Caldwell Tobacco Road 27 G A, "Lov's going to big her," Dude said. "He's getting ready to do it right 1

now, too ... He acts Just 303

like

an old stud-horse."

NC, What a way to be in

1936 Morehouse Rain on

— bigged, and no pappy. Bigged and no

woman to stay with her. 1 937 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, [A poor woman] is a woman that's bigged, in a family way, in other words pregnant. 1942 Hurston Dust Tracks 70 cFL, It did not take me long to know what was meant when a 4.

was spoken of as "mint" or "bigged." 1950 PADS NC Folkl. 1 .520, Big ... To make pregnant. DARE File FL, NC, Big to make pregnant. Com-

girl

4 SC. 1952 General. 1967 1

1

Brown

—

—

DARE (Qu. GG14) Inf GA67, He bigged her— He impreg-

mon. 1968 nated her.

To

2

big adj

[OED 1535^

Pregnant.

1

exaggerate.

AC Mt.

1972 Cooper ]

S Midi See Map Cf

chiefly Sth,

bigv Pregnant. C1960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Big 1963 Wright Lawd 18 Chicago IL [Black], If you hadn't lied and said you was big, I .

.

1965-70 DARE (Qu. wouldn't've never married you, neither. AA28, Expressions women use to sav that another is going to have ") 22 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, Big; NJ67, a baby: "She('s) SC26, Big again; KY44, Getting big; [IL5, In the big league]. .

.

.

.

and bigging

big auger n [auger tool for boring holes]

it

— exaggerating.

chiefly

West

An

important person, big bug; a foreman. 1903 (1965) Adams Log Cowboy 125 NM, I reckon

.

Today

Folkl. 90, Bigging

—

some

he's

big

auger a senator or governor, maybe. 1936 Adams Cowboy Lingo 21 West, The [ranch] owner had divers titles, such as 'presidente,' 'ramrod' or 'big auger.' .

.

big

A 1

.

.

bag n used as lobster bait, perh a porgy. 966 DARE Tape ME22, To string 'em [=lobsters] on sometime we use fish

mostly porkies, "big bags" we

big

call

'em.

bedbug n

=assassin bug (here: Triatoma spp esp T. sanguisuga). 1895 Comstock Manual Insects 37, A closely allied species 1

.

human

.

insinu-

blood This insect occurs in the Southern and Western states; it is the Big Bed-bug. 1937 Discovcheerful brute occurs in North America, where it is ery Dec 368/2, A known as the "big bed bug" and the "assassin bug."

ates itself into beds

.

.

.

[and] sucks

.

.

.

.

big blue crane, big blue shitepoke See big crane

big bluestem n

Any

of several beardgrasses, esp Andropogon furcatus, A. ger-

ardi,

and A. Jrl.

.

2 as superl, often in phrr the biggest part (or half): Most. chiefly

S Midi

.

( 1

.

.

.

MD

900-

1

1

PADS 2.34 "The

"He slept the biggest part of the day." 1944 NC, SC, TN, VA, Half the biggest ... The majority, most.

Biggest,

8),

.

.

most.

biggest half of the people does

Biggest

.

.

.

The most,

it."

the largest portion.

cl960 Wilson

"He

just sets

csKY, around the

Coll.

The and does nothing." The biggest half most or the majority, not exactly half by any means. 1970 DARE Tape VA70, The ladies would do biggest of the work on the chitterlins. biggest part of the time

.

.

.

Of an amount or quantity: considerable, great. 1946 AmSp 2 .54, A refusal of a second helping of food 'No, thank you. I have had a big plenty.' 1965-68 DARE (Qu. BB18) Inf OH44, Puked a big lot; (Qu. LL9a, As much as you need or more for example "We've got of apples. ") Inf OK6, A big plenty. 3

1

.

.

,

—

.

.

Of a frost: severe. Cf black frost 1 1967 - 70 DARE (Qu. B30, Afrost that kills plants)

4

GA31, LA2, NJ28, Big

frost.

Infs

AL48,

AR

furcatus

big

,

1

9,

.

.

.

Big Bluestem.

boy n

See quot. 1942 Amer. Mercury 55.94 Harlem NY, Big boy the South, it means fool and is a prime insult. 1

— stout

%2 also big toter: See quot. A shotgun) Inf TN53, Big boy, 1970 DARE (Qu. P37b, .

.

fellow.

But

in

big toter. [Inf

Black]

tbig boy v To take advantage of (someone); to bully or tease. 1967 DARE (Qq. GG3, 1133) Inf PA35, Big boy (someone). big buck(s) See buck n 3a 1

big 1

.

.

.

9 1 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, Biggest Most. "I was there the biggest part of the day." (as of 1942 Warnick Garrett Co.

1899

scoparius.

big blue Amer. Folkl. 7.103 NE, Andropogon scoparius stem. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 48 CT, Andropogon furBig Blue-stem. 1912 Baker Book of Grasses 55, Big Blue-stem. catus Andropogon furcatus. 1950 Hitchcock Manual Grasses 757, AndropoBig Bluestem. 1950 Stevens ND Plants 84, Andropogon gon gerardi

1894

bug n [Cf Engl

bug conceited, pompous] Cf big auger, dude

dial

big-butt, big dog, big

big-butt

231

An

important, often self-important, person; a bigwig; hence bigbuggery n, big-buggish adj (both rare). 1827 Harvard Reg. Oct 247 MA, He who desires to be a big / Bug,

1843 (1916) Hall / So-top. or chaise, or tandem. Purchase 55 IN, I allow the stranger and his woman-body thinks themselves mighty big-bugs. Ibid 199, No one would have become popular in the New Purchase, but for mistaken opinions in the neighbours about "Mr. Carlton's bigbuggery and stuckupness." Ibid 407, Big-buggish, aristocratic yankee notions! 1894 Frederic Marsena 46 nNY, These big bugs with plentv o'monev alwavs have to be waited on. 3*60 NE. "l907 DX 3.181 seNH. 1907 1905 DX 3.3 cCT. 1905 3.408 DX 3.209 nwAR, CT. 1908 DX 3.290 eAL, wGA. 1909 3.437 wNY. 1927 AmSp 2.348 WV. 1937 Sandoz nME. 1910 Slogum 264 NE, Then why did he get the fences torn down get all the big bugs ofthe country against him? 1965-70Z)AR£(Qu. 1123) 15 Infs. esp west of Appalachians, Big bugs; (Qq. U37, HH2. 8. 17, 1135) 8 Infs. scattered, Big bug: (Qu. 1124) Inf IA30, Big-bug hill; GA 1 9, OK 1 Where the big bugs (are) (live). 1970 Z^-fcETape MA73, The man who built it never lived there he was the big bug in town at that time. rattling in a natty gig,

New

DX

DX

DN

—

,

.

recorded for this item include: Big Papa, Gompv. Grandpap. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Z3, Grandfather) 21 Infs. chiefly Sth, Big daddy: AL4. Big dad: AL6. MS47. Big papa; LAM, Big pa. [10 of 25 Infs Black] 1970 Tarpley Blinkv 210 neTX, Usual term of affection for grandfather .'. Big daddy. 1971 Today Show Letters eAL (as of 1930's). Big Grandfather. 1982 Walker Color Purple 227 GA [Black]. daddy He say he thought something was funny bout his They have two kids mama (my mama) cause she and big daddy was so old and strict and set in they ways. .

.

.

.

.

Broad

"bigbug."

.

daylight.

1927 Kennedy Gritny 81 sLA [Black], Somebody ain' use' to muskeeters. an' gotta ride in big daylight, settin' up und' a muskeeter net. I ain't visit there 1927 Adams Congaree 85 NC [Black], Paul: 'cep' in de day-time. Tad: My Brother, dat what I talk 'bout. I visit there in de Big Day. 'en dem white folks was standin' on de front piazza shooten' peoples cows. 1947 Ballowe The Lawd 124 LA, She came home stark naked, beat up one judge, and is hot behind another in the cane .

"He surely

pendent:

A

person [who] acts important or inde") Inf TX5 1 Big chested. .

.

_ these days.

is

,

big church n ironic

See quots. 1897 KS Univ. .

.

n

=big dog. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Big dealer Name for self-important 1970 DARE (Qu. GG19a, A person [who] acts important or independent) Inf IL 126. Big dealer: (Qu. HH17. A person who tries to appear important) Inf IL 122. Big dealer. .

big dog n chiefly Sth, Section

.

.

.

.

S Midi, esp SC

.

Map

See

and

Map

An

sKS, Big church no church, as, "He belongs to the big church." 1908 DX 3.290 eAL, wGA, Big church, the No church: used facetiously to indicate that one is not a member of any church or denomination. "I belong to the big church." 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Big church The devil's church. 1952 Brown XC Folkl. 1.527 cnNC, Church, the big ... No church at all. .

.

and. big day. hasn't a stitch on her back.

person.

Conceited, biggity adj. 1968 DARE (Qu. GG 19a,

.

.

.

ibig chested adj

.

.

.

big dealer aristocrat, a "bigwig,"

.

day n Also big daylight Sth among Black speakers

big

field,

An

.

.

.

big-butt n Cfbig bug 1952 Brown XC Folkl. 1.520, Big-butt ...

big doings

/

Qrly.

6.51

.

.

.

.

big circle See big ring

.

.

1

bigcone pine n

The Coulter pine (Pinus

coulteri).

important, sometimes self-important, person: a big bug. pretends to be the 1847 in 1956 Eliason Tar/zee/ Ta/A: 260 NC. Dick biggest dogg in the meat house. 1859 ( 1 968) BanleXX Americanisms, Big Dog. In some parts ofthe country the principal man of a place or in an undertaking is called the big dog with a brass collar, as opposed to the 1950 PADS 14. 14 SC. 1953 little curs not thought worthy of a collar. Brewer Word Brazos 45 eTX [Black], De Baptis' moderatuh'sabigdawg in de Baptis' Chu'ch. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Big dog ... A VIP. or one who pretends to be. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. HH17) 17 Infs. chiefly Sth, S Midi, Big dog: IN45. Big dog in the meathouse: (Qu. 1123) 1 9 Infs. .

scattered Sth,

.

.

S Midi. Big dogs: (Qq. GGl9b. HH2. 43a)

5 Infs. Big dog.

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 24, Pinus coulteri Bigcone Pine (Cal.). 1911 Jepson Flora CA 18, PfinusJ coulteri Big-cone Pine. .

.

.

big crane n Also big blue crane,

~

.

shitepoke

=great blue heron. 1888 (1890) Warren Birds PA

Great Blue 57, Ardea herodias 1913 Bailey Birds VA 38, Great Blue Heron [Big Blue Crane. Cranky]. 1945 McAtee Xomina Abitera 26, Great blue heron Big blue shitepoke, Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1955 MA Audubon 39.312, Great Big Heron. Big Crane (Maine. Herons are frequently miscalled cranes.). 1962 Imhof AL Birds 81. Other .

.

.

Heron; "Big Crane." .

Names

.

.

... Big Blue Crane.

big cranky See cranky n big

daddy n Also

big dad, bigpa(pa) chiefly Sth See speakers Cf big mamma

Map

esp

common among Black One's grandfather.

1962Atwood Vocab. TX 65, Grandfather

.

.

.

•big

threw down his fork. Miscellaneous nicknames

1955 Williams Cat Tin Roof! LA, Big Daddy

.

dog

+

varr

(Qq.

GG19b, HH2, HH17, HH43a,

II23)

.

big doings n [doing] 1

A

celebration, party: a formal social

ceremony or

gathering.

Cf big time 1932 Durant (Okla.) D. Democrat 1 2 Nov 4/2 (DA), Come to town and your neighbor to come, for there'll be big doings for all. 1935 Hurston Mules & Men 27 FL, There was going to be big doin's in Glory. 1938 Matschat Suwannee R. 248 GA, The party was to be big doin's. and the Plant Woman looked forward to it with keen anticipation. 1951 West Witch Diggers 6 IN (as of 1899). Looks like big doings at the Dumphys' tonight. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Big-doin's Great occasion of some sort, like a party, a reunion, a marriage, or even a funeral. 1968 DARE Tape KS18. We always have a big doins on Decoration Day.

tell

.

2

A

braggart.

1970 doings.

DARE

Cf big doings adj HH8, A person who

(Qu.

likes to brag) Inf

.

.

SC68. Big

big doings

/

biggity

232

big doings adj [big doings n]

1873

Haughty, conceited, high-and-mighty.

.

1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 98 SC [Gullah], Sho, I'll back-jaw you much as I please. Who is you to be so big-doins anyhow? Ibid 287, Walk off proudful. Strut. Dat is de way to treat big-doins town men. Let em see you am' noways down-hearted. 1930 DN 6.79 ceSC, Big doin 's

.

.

.

Conceited, haughty. General.

1960 Vines Trees

SW 569, Sophora secundiflora

Other vernacular names are Coral Bean, Big-drunk Bean, and Colorin. 1965 Teale Wandering Through Winter 1 50, All across Texas, a host of names have been bestowed on the wild plants Big-drunk bean, nimble Kate .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[etc.].

See quots. cl960 Wilson

Coll.

end n The most important part. 1968 DARE Tape MD18, That was

the big end of

[after

it

explaining

eye n phr

have a (or

the) big eye:

Greed, covetousness.

DN

.

1967 DARE (Qu. 0032b, If a person can't sleep steadily but keeps on ") Inf TNI, waking, he might say, 'Every night this week I've Had the big eye. 1976 Garber Mountain-ese Appalachians, Big-eye insomnia The chillurn allers git the big-eye on Christmas .

.

.

.

.

night.

television.

1965-70

DARE (Qu.

ORl,TX95, VA109,

FF27,

.

.

Television) Infs

KY73, MN2, OH47,

Big eye.

4 See big-eyed herring, big-eye adj Also big-eyed 1 Greedy, covetous. [See quot 1949]

among Black

Sth

you].

%2 Self-important. 1969 DARE (Qu.

GG

1

9a,

When you can seefrom the way a person acts

that he's feeling important or independent:

"He surely is

these

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

arrogant or haughty person.

DARE (Qu. "He

independent:

GG19a,

surely

.

.

A

person [who] acts these days.

is

1976 DARE File KS, Big important and behaves accordingly.

big feeler.

feeler

Infs

")

.

important or

.

KY24, M03,

— A person who thinks

A

he's

N Midi

big-feeling adj chiefly Nth,

adj.

1887 Eggleston Graysons 253 sIL, Markham had got too big-feeling for 1940 Yoder Rosanna 37 PA, It looks a little big feelin' for us, I'm afraid, but it is not against the rules of the church to drive two horses, and everybody knows that we did need a new carriage. 1942 Warnick Garrett Co. (as of 1900- 1918), Big feeling, conceited. "She's so big feelin'." 1967-70 DARE (Qu. GG19a, ..A person [who] his place.

acts

"He

surely

.

these days.

is

")

M A33, MI63, Big-feeling (guy); (Qu. HH35, A woman who puts on a

Infs

of

lot

important or independent:

.

.

.

for me.') Infs KY84,

"She's too

airs:

MA75, WV3,

Big-feeling.

bass n The black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus).

bigfin

1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 69,

Bigfoot

A

n, also attrib

large, hairy,

It is

also called

CA

chiefly

.

.

"Big Fin Bass."

CfSasquatch

man-like creature reported as living in the forests

and mountains of California. 1 958 Washington Post (DC) 7 Oct B2/3 - 4 (Hench Coll.), A plaster cast of a footprint 6 inches long and 7 inches wide is held by Jerry Crew, who said he made the cast in a forest 50 miles north of Eureka, Calif. A taxidermist said the footprint was not made by any known animal and Crew and his logging associates have simply dubbed it "Bigfoot."] 1965-70 DARE (Qu. CC17, Monsters that people tell tales about in Mount Shasta; especially to tease greenhorns) Inf CA30, Bigfoot one sees his footprints; CA32, Bigfoot in the Klamath area, half-ape, half-man, foot seventeen inches long; he hasn't done anything but some say he's real; CA1 18, Bigfoot at Oakhurst a big footprint found; [

1

.

—

.

tales told

an abominal

him

[sic]

Bigfoot;

— — — nine with the Himalayans Bigfoot — our abdominal

about Bigfoot

CA137, The

.

Some

hair;

supposed to be

[sic];

the Indians call [sic]

snowman;

loggers claimed their fifty-gallon

thrown down into a gully; saw big tracks, made casts. Now money scheme. Some claimed they got up close enough to it

barrels were

a big

feet tall

snowman like in

started seven to eight years ago.

it's

.

—

—

had a woman's breasts. Tracks are about sixteen inches long, look sort of human; CA144, Bigfoot, of Trinity and Humboldt County; CA 161, Bigfoot same one up in Trinity County; CA 163, Hairy giants, similar to Bigfoot of Trinity County; CA80, 213, Bigfoot. 1969 DARE Tapes CA 1 38, 2 1 3, Bigfoot. 1974 New Scientist & Sci. Jrl. 3 Jan 26/3, A the bear/ape/man recent book had listed 800 sightings of Bigfoot whose existence has been persisted in by Californians for a century at to see that

it

—

.

.

bigger n

=alewife. 1896 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 47.426, Alewife: Big-eyed Herring; Ellwife. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 150, AleNames: Branch Herring, Big-eyed Herring [etc]. 1976 Warner wife Beautiful Swimmers 127 Chesapeake Bay, There is Alosa pseudoharengus, most commonly known as the alewife. Watermen prefer to call it

1901

DN 2.

1

36 cNY, Bigger ... In phrase 'one's biggers"

— one's

bet-

ters.

.

.

the big eye.

big-eyed scad n Also bigeye scad A small food fish (Selar crumenophthalmus) with prominent eyes.

.

.

least.

Inf MA35, Big-eyed.

")

big-eyed herring n Also big eye

.

.

.

many

speakers Cf DJE 1947 Ballowe The Lawd 135 LA [Black], Aun' Big Eye was a character. As a child she cried for everything she saw; that is how she got the name. Ibid 195, Mollie, his wife, was big-eyed when it came to putting things on her back, and he was hard put to pay for them. 1949 Turner Africanisms 233 [Gullah], [big di] 'covetous,' i.e., 'big eye,' being a translation of the Ibo expression [ana uku] 'covetous,' lit. 'eye big.' 1972 [see big I, little

days.

1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. G14, A. saccharoides and A. barbinodis Other local names, such as big feathergrass are applied to these species Cane beardgrass is less widely distributed and more distinctly western than silver beardgrass.

.

2 Insomnia.

A

SW

chiefly

MD

to

1903 2.306 seMO, Big-eye (to have the) ... To overestimate. 'He has the big-eye on that horse.' 1950 PADS 14.14 SC, Big eye ... A child is said to have a big eye when he helps himself to more food than he can eat. Also applied to older persons. "His eye is bigger than his belly," is an often-heard expression of the same idea. Big eye expresses also greed in general. "He got de big eye," he wants more than his share. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 205 Ozarks, Mary of Mincy, Missouri, once tried to buy some household relics from her neighbors. "They had the big eye" she told me, meaning that they regarded the stuff as more important and valuable than it really was.

3

.

Cf feathergrass

Haughty, proud, biggity

to play a game].

in

.

=beardgrass (here either A ndropogon barbinodis ox A. sacchar-

1967-69

big

1

.

.

An

csKY, Big dude ... A self-important person, a VIP. "He's the Big Dude of that town." 1969 DARE (Qu. HH17, A person who tries to appear important, or who tries to lay down the law in his community) Inf KYI 9, Big dude.

big

.

big feeler n [big-feeling]

dude n Cf big bug

how

Misc. Coll. 14.2.25, Trachurops cru-

Inst.

.

oides).

=frijollilo 1.

big

.

big feathergrass n

big-drunk bean n [From the narcotic properties of the seeds]

.

1878 Smithsonian

in

menophthalmus Big-eyed scad; goggler. 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 303, Its common names in American waters are goggler, big-eyed scad, and goggle-eyed jack. 1960 Gosline- Brock Hawaiian Fishes, Bigeye scad may be easily identified by its large eyes, the diameter of which goes about 3 times into the length of the head.

Also called akule, goggle-eye, goggle-eye jack, goggler

biggin n [Brit dial bigging] 1952 Brown NC Folk!. 1.520, Biggin Chapel Hill.

...

A

house, a dwelling.—

biggity adj Also sp biggedy, big(g)ety, biggoty [Prob big + -ity quality, state; cf uppity] chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map Cf briggity

Conceited, vain, self-important; impudent, boastful. 1880 Harris Uncle Remus Songs 80 GA, Like po'in' spring water on one

biggity

233 1902 DN 2.229 sIL. 1903 DA' 2.306 se.MO. 1905 DN 3.70 nwAR. 1906 ZXY3.115 sIN. 1918 DN 5.18 NC. 1933 Rawlings South Moon 81 FL, You'd better not go to gittin' biggety nor lookin' for a fuss. 1943 Writers' Program NC Bundle of Troubles 25, And biggoty he [=Mr. Bullfrog] was 'bout the biggotiest and highsteppinest critter I ever seed and seem like all he think 'bout was his 1944 PADS 2.54 MO, VA, NC, SC, TN, Biggety. 1948 fine clothes. Faulkner Intruder 19 MS, You goddamn biggity stiffnecked stinking burrheaded Edmonds sonofabitch. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1 .520, Biger deze ver biggitv fices.

—

gity,

—

biggedy, bigety, biggoty

DARE

GGl9a, When

(Qu.

"He

dent:

surely

.

.

.

.

Self-important.

a person acts

.

these days.

is

")

.

— General.

1965-70

important or indepenS Midi,

.

14 Infs. chiefly Sth,

Biggity; (Qu. HH8, A person who likes to brag) Infs SC10, 1 1, Biggity: (Qu. HH35, A woman who puts on a lot of airs: "She's too for People who me. ") Infs GA74, KY26, NJ15, VA15, Biggity; (Qu. 1123, are, or think they are, the best society ofa community) Infs FL48, KY44, 85, Biggity; (Qu. II36b, Ifsomebody who talks back or gives rude answers '") Inf FL52, Biggity; (Qu. you might say, "She certainly is Expressions about somebody who has plenty of money) Inf U37, .

.

NC85,

.

.

Biggety.

big hole n [See quot 1968] 1

West

chiefly

an emergency

In railroading:

1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Big

house

big

/

stop.

hole.

—A

quick stop; an emergency

application of the air brakes, so called since the brake valve permits an immediate and heavy flow of air to the brake mechanism when placed in

emergency position or on the "big hole." Boomers [=migratory term to the tramps and it is now widely used to indicate an immediate cessation of any activity. 1931 Writer's Digest 11.41 [Railroad lingo]. Big Hole Emergency position of the air the

railroad workers] carried the

.

.

—

brake valve; the act of applying brakes abruptly to the full reduction. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 332, Big hole Emergency application of air-brake valve, causing a quick stop.

—

By ext: the lowest gear of a truck or other vehicle. 1947 Berrey-Van den BaTkAmer. Slang Suppl. 25.2, Gearshift Posilow gear. 1958 McCulloch Woods U 'ords Pacific tions Big hole, NVV, Big hole The low gear on a truck or donkey. 1959 AmSp 34.76 nCA [Logger lingo]. Big hole The lowest gear on a logging truck. 2

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

big hole v phr Also big hole

.

it,

~

the air

chiefly

West

and trucking: see quots. 1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Big hole. To stop quickly. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Big hole the air. 1962 AmSp 37.132 nCA [Logging railroad language]. Big-hole the air ... To let the air In railroading, logging,

—

escape from the biggest hole in the valve which applies the brakes sharply

1969 AmSp 44.202 [Truck drivers' jargon]. Apply brakes for an emergency stop Big hole it. 1970 Current Slang 5. 1 .4 "We were about to hit a car, so the engineer bigholed CA, Bighole the train." in an emergency.

.

.

big

.

hominy n

.

.

.

Sth,

S Midi Cf hominy,

little

hominy, lye hominy

See quot 1908.

DN

1908 3.291 eAL, wGA, Big hominy Whole grains of Indian corn hulled and boiled. Same as lye-hominy. 1918 5.1 8 NC. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 56 FL, She ladled food into pans There were swamp cabbage, big hominy, biscuits, cornbread, syrup and coffee. 1950 PADS 14. 14 SC. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Big hominy (usually just hominy) Whole-grain, home-made hominy. 1966 DARE Addit SC, Big hominy. .

.

.

DN

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

FW

biggity adv Pronc-sp biggidy

big

[biggity adj]

Presumptuously, conceitedly. 1927 Kennedy Grimy 52 sLA [Black], You gotta study yo' lesson a heap mo', befo' you go 'roun' hyuh preachin' to people so biggidy.

biggyhead n fish of the family Cottidae, esp cabezon. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 302, The Cottidas are names as "Biggyhead," and "Cabezon." .

.

chiefly

West

—

1931 Writer's Digest 11.41 [Railroad lingo]. Big Hook Wrecking 1932 Santa Fe Mag. Jan 34/ 1 A wrecking crane is the big hook. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 332, Big hook Wrecking crane. 1967 DARETape ID9. A big crane on wheels that picks up cars that are upset, locomotives, things like this it's commonly called "the wrecker" or "the big hook." 1970 Current Slang 5.1.4 CA, Big hook The steam-driven mobile crane (railway) used to pick up derailed cars and crane.

,

—

—

A

.

hook n

In railroading: see quots.

.

.

.

known by such

.

.

.

.

engines.

big hat n

A law enforcement officer. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. V9, A policeman) Inf LA8, Big-hat man [laughter]; (Qu. VlOa, A sheriff) Inf VA70. Big hat. [Both Infs Black] 1

.

.

.

—

1969-4^5/7 44.202 [Truck drivers' jargon]. Big hat State trooper, state patrolman, or state policeman, especially one whose uniform includes a large hat.

A

2

self-important person, a big bug.

DARE (Qu. GG19b, When

1966-67

.

.

a person acts

.

important or

.

") Inf FL33, The big hat; "He seems to think he's A person who tries to appear important "He'd like to be around here. ') Inf TNT2, Big hat.

independent:

(Qu. the

A

3

HH

1

7,

big 1

house n

A manor

.

.

InfNV234, Big

HH28,

.

.

main house on a

People offoreign background

.

.

Mexicans)

hats.

bighead n

2

=black-bellied plover. 1923 U.S. Dept.Ag. Misc. Circular I 3.68, Black-bellied Plover

nacular

A

2

Names

.

.

.

In local use

no

|3

.

.

.

legs) Inf

A

1967

.

.

.

Ver-

Big-head (Miss.).

tadpole.

\966DARE(Qu.

P20, Very young frogs FL7, Bigheads.

— when they

still

have tails but

kind of cigar.

DARE (Qu. DD7)

big Herb n cl905 in 1974

chiefly

Sth

.

The

principal

Cf

Midi

room of

a house; the living room,

chiefly

.

.

.

.

.

AmSp

(used sarcastically).

49.61

swME, Big

herb

.

.

.

Important person

S

1

kitchen or general living-room in 1903 DN 2.306 seMO, Big-house house. This term is, perhaps, derived from the old custom of having separate log houses covered by one roof. 1915 DN4. 181 svvVA. 1918 DA' 5.32 KY, Big house ... In a house of two or more rooms, the largest one is thus designated. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 51, In the simple homes of the piedmont and the mountains of North Carolina (also on the Peedee in South Carolina, rarely in West Virginia) the living room is called the big-house or the great-house. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Big house The room where company is entertained; occasionally living room is heard. The room where members of the family spend most of their time together. 1956 Hall Coll. eTN\ wNC, Big house The main, or living room of the house. In the old log houses the rooms were often built separately (and detached) as the family needed more room. .

Inf IA4, Bighead.

EDD

house sb. 7 "The a farm-house or cottage" The parlor or principal room of a

Cf

big room, main house

.

1

plantation,

1811 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 260 NC, Work on the big house. 1894 Twain Pudd'nhead Wilson 186 MO, I had a pow'ful good start, 1928 Peterkin 'ca'se de big house 'uz three mile back fum de river. Scarlet Sister Mary 1 3 SC, A great empty Big House, once the proud home of the plantation masters, is now an old crumbling shell. 1953 Brewer Word Brazos 67 eTX [Black], She keep liT Milly rat in de Big House an' she come to be de house girl. 1954 Holiday Apr 46 MS, She began to spend more and more time in the house, not her cabin but the big house. 1967 LeCompte Word Atlas 169 seLA, Main plantation house big house. .

person of Mexican heritage.

1970ZX4/?.E(Qu.

or the

.

.

.

,

bight

big loon

/

234

but were covered usually with a common roof. Often an open hallway separated two such linked log houses. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1963 Edwards Gravel 20 eTN (as of 1 920s), After supper Uncle Jeems walked into the big house and stood in the middle of the floor and .

.

stretched.

3 A jail or penitentiary. 1916 Lit. Digest 52.424/3 NY, Then comes the final curtain of the piece, when the malefactor is sent away to the "big house." 1940 in .

.

1963 Fitzgerald Letters 68, I feel like a criminal who has been in a hideout, been caught, and has to go back to the Big House. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. V 1 1 A county or city jail) Infs C05, 47, 9, PA240, Big house. 1970 Tarpley 5/w/c)' 270 neTX, Other names forjail Big .

,

MD

.

.

.

.

curve]

A shoreline cove or bay. chiefly Atl States 1640 in 1911 Hist. Mag. 6.68, A line drawn from the head of Prior's Creek East into a bite called Adam's bite. 1827 Cooper Red Rover 1.44, This is a pretty bight of a basin. 1899 ( 1 9 2) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bight ... A small, circular sheet of water between two points of land. "We put the boat in the bight, out of the way of the ice." 1935 AmSp 0. 54 eMD, Bight. Very rare; Eastern Shore. 1966 DARE FW Addit FL, Bight— cove or bay (salt-water). 1968 DARE (QR pi 5) Inf AK2, Bight small indentation along shore. 1968 DARE Tape NC57, We had a three-mast schooner came in the bight of Cape Lookout; that's a small basin-like an' inside of it was smooth water. 1

MD

1

1

—

2 Esp in logging: a loop or

quot 1967).

920 DN 5.80

bend

in a slack rope or wire; also fig

NW

chiefly Pacific

NW, Bite.

For bight, the angle of the rope which is drawn through a pulley. "A man was killed yesterday standing in the bite when a block and cable broke." Seattle Post Intelligencer. 1950 Western Folkl. 9. 16 OR [Logger speech]. Bight of the line. The "belly" of a line when it is hanging slack or lying on the ground. Anyone standing 1

—

.

term was rationalized by white Texans as "big

that this

the phrase "big

I, little

I" (in

you").

big indigo n

The blue grosbeak (Guiraca

caerulea).

1949 Sprunt- Chamberlain SC Bird Life 512, Eastern blue grosbeak Local Names: Big Indigo. 1955 Oriole 20.13, Blue Grosbeak. Big Indigo (that is, indigo bird; "big" in contrast to the smaller Indigo Bunting of the same general coloration). .

—

.

tbig injun n Cf big Ike 1907 DN 3. 181 seNH, Big Injun Nickname man. "Big Injun says he has seen the world." .

[OE byht a bend,

bight n Also sp bite

(see

.

formed nie

1

house.

1

Big I's. 1972 Kochman Rappin '178, Probable Africanisms in American English. Big eye "greedy." [Footnote:] Dr. J.L. Dillard has in-

—

.

.

for a coarse, boastful

n [big adj + nominalizing suff -ite] A conceited person.

1 bigite

DARE (Qu.

1967

1135, A person who is disliked because he seems knows everything) Inf LAI 1, Bigite ['big,ait].

think he

big John the

to

Conqueror See conquer John

euphem

big jump, the n

Death. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 17.1, Death The big jump. 1968 Adams Western Words, Bigjump A cowman's reference to death. When a person died, he was said to have taken the big jump. 1

.

.

.

—

big laurel n 1

The southern magnolia (Magnolia grand ijlora).

1810 Michaux Arbres 1.32 (DA), The large magnolia, laurel. 1883 Hale Woods NC 1 10, Magnolia grandiflora south it is often called Big Laurel. 1961 W3.

.

.

.

Big

[or]

.

.

Farther

.

1

within this area may suffer serious injury or death when the line is suddenly jerked tight. Hence, "to step into the bight of the line" is to get into trouble.

1967

DARE FW Addit cwWA, Caught in the bight of the when a line mean caught between two sides of an argument, for

In logging or sailing, to get caught in a loop of slack

line.

tightens. Also used to

instance the possible negative result of playing both ends against the middle.

3 See quot.

NC

1952 Brown Edenton.

Folkl.

1.520, Bight [bait] ... a suction

current.—

2 also big-leaf laurel:

big

I

See big

I, little

I

=biggity adj. cl960 Wilson

Cave

you

here.

mum

+

-ified]

csKY, Bigified Egotistic. "He's always acting 1962 Wilson Folkways Mammoth Another term for being stuck-up or smart-alec.

Coll.

.

.

Common Names Bigleaf Laurel (Pa.). Big Laurel (W. 1931 Randolph Enterprise (Elkins, W. Va.) 12 March 1/2 (DA), The shrubbery should not be cut down along the banks, but more planted, 'Big Laurel,' rose-bushes [etc.]. 1944 PADS 2.32 wNC, Big laurel (when white) The rhododendron Reported. 1950Peattie Nat. Hist. Trees 5 7, Big Rhododendron Other Names: Big-

+

Ike n

1

]

chiefly Sth,

S Midi

1902 Harben Abner Daniel 72 GA, He's a big Ike in some church in 1908 DN 3.291 eAL, wGA, Big Ike A person of much importance, especially in his own opinion. 1915 DN 4.181 swVA. cl937 in \972Amer. Slave 2 .1. 77 SC, Every Yankee I see had de stamp of poor white trash on them. They strutted 'round, big Ike fashion, a bustin' in rooms widout knockin'. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Big .

.

1969-70 DARE (Qu. HH17, A who tries to appear important, or who tries to lay down the law in his community: "He'd like to be the around here. ") Infs KY42, Big Ike; (Qu. GG19b, When you can see from the way a person 53, 9 acts that he's feeling important or independent: "He seems to think he's 1 ,

") I,

little

quot

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Laurel.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Rose Bay. pi

Laziness; a strong inclination to idleness. 1898 Lloyd Country Life 2 AL, He want worth his weight in sap saw dust, and the general wonderment was that he could have the big lazies continually all the time and still keep out of the poor house.

big-leaf

elm n

Perh the cedar elm. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. Tl

1) Infs

AL1

19,

1,

IL76,

OK52,

Big-leaf elm.

Inf

MS39,

big-leaf

maple n

.

loud, self-assertive person.

(see

.

big-leaf laurel See big laurel 2

Atlanta.

big

.

.

=big bug.

A

.

1

when company comes."

big Ike n, also attrib [big

.

.

—

Va.).

tbig lazies, the n

am

40, Bigified.

Ike. person

WV, This dale is girt round by Rhododendron commonly called the big laurel out 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 315, Rhododendron maxi-

1853 Kennedy Blackwater Chron. 89

1

bigified adj [big

bigified

rosebay (here: Rhododendron maxi-

a broad belt of the

leaf

big l-am See

A

mum).

maple (Acer macrophyllum) native to the Also called California maple 1, canyon maple, Oregon maple, white maple Std: a large-leaved

Pacific coast.

big-leaved magnolia n

=southern magnolia. 1971 GA Dept. Ag. Farmers Market Bulletin 7 July 8, The southern magnolia also known as the evergreen magnolia, bull-bay and big-leaved magnolia ... is of the family Magnoliaceae and the species Magnolia grandiflora L.

Big Ike.

you n Also abbr big I [Perh folk-etym of big-eye adj 972 below) punningly with the letters / and u] Cf big 1

bug, big Ike

big leg n [From the swelling of the legs]

=milk

leg 2.

Common name for "milk1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.520, Big-leg Disleg."— Durham and Duplin counties. 1967 DARE (Qu. K47, .

An

important or self-important person. 1 967 - 69 DARE (Qu. HH8, A person who likes to brag) Infs MI 1 Big I and little you [laughter]; TX18, Big I, little you; (Qu. HH17, A person who tries to appear important around "He'd like to be the here. ") Inf MA35, Big I and little you; (Qu. 1123, People who are, or think they are, the best society of a community: The ) Inf IN4 1

.

.

.

.

eases foj] horses or mules) Inf TN2, Big

.

leg.

,

.

.

.

.

1

big loon n chiefly

=loon. 1844 DeKay Zool.

NEng Cf little

NY

loon

2.285, The Great Diver, or Big Loon, may be regarded as a perpetual resident in this State. 1899 Howe Birds RI 26,

big loop

235

—

Big Loon. A common winter resident along the Gavia immer MO, Common ocean beaches and cliffs. 1932 Bennitt Check-List loon ... Big loon; Walloon. 1955 MA Audubon 39.309, Common Loon. .

.

.

1

Big

Loon

.

.

big loop n

.

(New

England).

West

NM

is

suspected of stealing cattle,

it is

.

.

.

—A

The

lasso of a cattle-thief.

When

cattle thief s rope.

n Also big mother, big nana chiefly Sth See Map esp among Black speakers Cf big daddy One's grandmother. 1946 McCullers Member 35 GA, When Berenice said we, she meant Grandmother) 31 Honey and Big Mama. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. Z4, Infs, Big mamma: Inf TX61, Big mother; GA28. Big nana. [Of all Infs .

.

responding to the question, 6% were Black: of those giving this response. Black] 1970 Tarpley Blinky 208 neTX, Usual term of affecBig mama. 1971 Today Show Letters cAL (as tion for grandmother Grandmother. of 1930s), Big mamma

40% were

.

.

.

.

Bigmouth. 1966 DARE (Qu. PI) Inf OK52. Goggle 1968 DARE File LA, Bigmouth perch an

for

—

"warmouth."

1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 69, Ptychocheilus oregonOther names by which it is known are big-mouth. 1946 LaMonte .V. Amer. Game Fishes 156, Squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis Names: Big-mouth. .

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

3 also bigmouth bass: =largemouth bass. 1966 DARE Tape FL37. Even now and then we'd catch what they call a bigmouth bass. 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 359, Largemouth Bass Common Names: bigmouth bass Scientific Name: Mi-

—

is

mamma

.

name

alternate

.

a

said that he "throws a big loop."

In a haughty manner. 1942 Perry Texas 1 34, When a negro acts superior to his fellows, he accused of "acting bigly."

.

.

e\e (bigmouthed perch).

ensis

bigly adv

big

Names:

arius

big pine

2 =squawfish.

See quots. 1 10, Big loop 1940 FWP Guide 1968 Adams Western Words, Big loop

man

1

/

.

.

.

.

.

croptenis salmoides.

bigmouth buffalo n Std: a buffalo fish (Icttobus cyprinellus) which is usu olivebronze dorsally and yellowish-white ventrally. Also called blue buffalo, bullhead ~, chubnose ~, gourdhead ~, gourdseed ~, lake ~, mud ~, pugnose ~, redmouth(ed) ~, roundhead ~, slough ~, stubnose ~, white ~

bigmouthed perch See bigmouth

1

bigmouthed sunfish n =warmouth.

LA

.

1933

to bear

Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 342, The Warmouth many confusing popular names. These [include]

1946 LaMonte A'. Amer. Chaenobryttus coronarius Names:

Game

Sunfish.

.

bigmouth perch See bigmouth

.

Bass has

Fishes 142,

.

.

come

Bigmouthed

Warmouth

—

Big-mouthed Sunfish.

1

bigmouth trout n =largemouth bass.

DARE (Qu. PI) Infs NJ60, big nana See big mamma bigness n chiefly NEng old-fash 1967-69

SC43, Bigmouth

trout.

Size.

1871 ( 1 882) Stowe Fireside Stories 7 NEng, This 'ere's what Cap'n Eb Sawin told me when I was a boy about your bigness. I reckon. 1899 Size, large or small. "They (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Bigness are about of the same bigness." cl905in 1974 AmSp 49.61 swME. He was the bigness of a trawl-kag. 1914 DA' 4.69 ME, n.NH, Bigness Size. He fell into the lake, clear up his hull bigness. .

.

ibig

man

n

A gallon

big

of wine.

gallon.

me

=big 1968

n

I, little

DARE (Qu. HH8, A person

who

likes to brag) Inf

IN5, Big me.

S Midi Cf protracted meeting

of revival meetings lasting several days. 1805 in 1943 Fries Rec. Moravians 6.2S14SC, There was a Methodist big meeting in the neighborhood. 1859 ( 968) Bartlett Americanisms, Big meeting. Common in the West for "protracted meeting." In country towns where there are no churches and where preachers are seldom seen, the arrival of one is a matter of importance to the whole surrounding region. The people having come so far, one sermon will not suffice: so for several days together religious services are held. 1890 D.X .65 KY. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Big-meeting A meeting at country churches kept up for several days, the preachers and congregation coming from a distance. "Protracted meeting." 1907 DA' 3.229 nwAR, seMO. 1942 Wamick Garrett Co. (as of 1900-1918). 1950 PADS 14. 14 SC. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Big-meeting Protracted meeting, revival. series

1

.

1

.

.

MD

.

.

—

1930 Irwin Amer. Tramp, Big O. A railroad conductor: from the Labour Union. The Order of Railroad Conductors, or "Big O." to which practically every conductor belongs. 1943 AmSp 18.162 [Railroad terms], Big ox, bigO, brains. Some of the titles given the conductor. 1946 in 1953 Botkin Treas. Railroad Folkl. 350. The shack was in the angel's seat of the ape wagon, blowing smoke to the Big-0 of the time he was a baby lifter on the varnish. Or, to say it in another way: The brakeman was in the cupola of the caboose, boasting to the conductor of the time he was a brakeman on a passenger train. big

.

.

.

.

one n

See quot 1915. 1915 D.V 4.181 swVA, Big one

"Now tell "He

told

.

.

.

An

incredible story: whopper.

1939 Hall Coll. eTN, he told people big stories.)

us a big un. the biggest 'n you know."

'em great big ones /biganz/."

(i.e.,

bigoted adj [Perhhypercorrectionforbiggityadj.inflby/n^oted intolerant]

=biggity adj 1902 D.V 2.229 sIL, Bigoted or bigoty Conceited: proud: haughty. 1968 DARE (Qu. GG19a, A person [who] acts important or inde.

.

.

pendent:

"He

surely

.

big ox See big

bigmouth n also bigmouth(ed) perch:

big

=warmouth.

1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 67, The Black Warmouth, Chaenobryttus a species also called "Big-mouth." 1933 LA Dept. of

antistius,

[See quot 1930]

.

.

1

.

.

.

you.

big meeting n chiefly Sth,

A

.

n Also big ox

In railroading: the conductor.

1970 Bullins Electronic 163 [Black], Clark: Let's go on up to the store and get us a big man. Ray: A big man? Clark: That's right ... a whole ibig

O

.

.

.

Conserv. Fishes 342, The Warmouth Bass has come to bear many confusing popular names. These [include] 1946 LaBigmouth. Monte A'. Amer. Game Fishes 142, Warmouth Chaenobryttus coron.

.

—

papa See

big pasture n

1968 times

.

.

.

.

these days.

is

")

.

Inf LT5. Bigoted.

O

big

daddy

Cf big house 3

Adams Western

Words, Big pasture

— What the cowboy some-

calls the penitentiary.

big pine n Either of two pines, sugar pine or ponderosa pine.

A big place

big time

/

236

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 15, Pinus lambertiana Ibid 20, Pinus ponderosa big pine. .

.

.

big pine.

.

3 also bigroot morning glory: =man-of-the-earth. 1932 Rydberg Flora Prairies 648, IfpomoeaJ leptophylla Bush Morning Glory, Big Root. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 268, /. leptophylla grows from an enormous, deep-seated fleshy root Because of this root the plant is often called bigroot or manroot. 1968 Barkley Plants KS 280, Ipomoea pandurata Man.

ibig place n

=big house 1970

.

3.

DARE (Qu.

VI 1,

.

.

A

.

.

county or city jail) Inf NY249, Big place.

.

.

.

.

big ring n

9.75 ND, Big rings. A large marble ring, usually over ten diameter. 1958 PADS 29.30 MA, WI, Big ring: A marble using a ring from 6 to 8 feet in diameter with 1 3 to 17 agates at the .

.

exact center in form of a cross. Players lag for first play, knuckle down tight and shoot from outside the ring attempting to knock the agates out, thus winning them. Upon knocking out an agate, the shooter remains in

knocked out of the ring, its DARE (Qu. EE7)InfsCA65, IL57,

the ring or pays to get out. If a shooter owner is out of the game. 1965-70

is

MD8, MI 14, OR 15, PA 167, TX9, Big ring; IL47, Big circle. 1966-68 DARE Tape MD51, Big ring; MI 14, Big ring ... A ring about maybe and each fellow put in three or four marbles and then you had a shooter which was about three quarter inch in diameter and you had to shoot the marbles in the center and knock 'em out of the ring; NM6. Big ring. 1973 Ferretti Marble Book 39, Big ring. Game similar to Ring Taw and Ringer. Ibid 50, Ringer Played by placing 1 3 marbles in the form of a cross in the middle of a 0-foot-diameter ring. Shooters shoot from the ring's edge and knock marbles out of the ring. The first player scoring seven hits wins. eight feet in diameter

.

.

.

.

In logging: see quots.

i942Berrey-VandenBaTkAmer. SlangSll A, Logging Big bull, big savage.

A

square dance. 1969 DARE (Qu. FF2) Inf GA70. "Let's have a big ring"— same

Harris Tour U.S.A. 104 csOH, Oh, I guess you can't miss it, stranger; only keep the Big Road. 1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 41 IN, The "big road" (Hoosier for highway) ran along the

north-west

3.229

)

side.

1902

nwAR, seMO.

DX 2.229 sIL. 1906 DN3A 15 sIN. 1907 DA' 1908 DN 3.291 eAL, wGA. 1915 DN 4.181

1923 DN 5.201 swMO, Big road ... A main thoroughfare, a highway. 1927 Kennedy Gritny 245 sLA [Black], The two of them comin' up the big road. 1937 in 1977 Amer. Slave Suppl. I 1.97 AL, I went on down de big road tell I come to a Oman's house what de yankees didn't burn. 1941 Stuart Men ofMts. 229 neKY, I walk down the hollow to the big road. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. N16a, A highway) Inf GA40,

swVA.

.

Big road: (Qu. U41b) Inf

big rock n

A jail

M08, A

DARE (Qu. Vll,..A

county or city jail) Infs GA82, SC32,

=big bug. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. GG19a,

A person [who] acts important or independent) Inf MI3, Big show; (Qu. HH17, A person who tries to appear important) Inf AK5. Big show.

9

1 1 )

the "big room," upstairs. This spacious

.

,

.

.

.

=big bug. 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 388.2, Person of importance or self-importance

person who his

tries to

community)

.

.

.

Big squeeze.

1967-68

appear important, or who

Infs

OR1,

DARE

tries to

lay

(Qu. HH17, A down the law in

YVI27. Big squeeze.

=big hat

1.

DARE (Qu.

VlOa,

.

.

A

sheriff) Inf

MN2,

Big

star.

A person of authority, as a police officer or foreman. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. VI 0b, A marshal) Inf KS5, Big stick; (Qu. HH43a, The top person in charge of a group of workmen, the ) InfGA13, Big stick. 1

.

.

2 =big bug.

1968-69 DARE (Qu. GGl9a, A person [who] acts 1 independent) Inf VT 1 2, Thinks he's a big stick; (Qu. tries to appear important) Inf AK5, Big stick. .

.

HH

.

.

important or person who

7, ,4

big sticks n pi In logging: the woods. .

.

.

Woods.

big sugar n

.

.

.

.

big sunflower n

A

balsamroot (here: Balsamorrhiza sagittata).

.

1963 Craighead Rocky Mt. Wildflowers 197, Big Sunflower ... can be confused with the true sunflowers (Helianthus) and other closely related

.

—

plants.

big-talk adj

bigroot n

A climbing or trailing plant of the genus Marah with a much

enlarged, woody, intensely bitter root fruits;

.

—

1

1

.

squeeze n Cf main squeeze

big

.

2.

Bagby VA Gentleman 79 VA, The glory of the new house chamber boasts four great windows. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 5 The living room is called on the Eastern Shore of Virginia the big-room. 1960 PADS 34.57 CO, Older Folk Speech big room 'living room.' 1972 Cooper NC Mt. Folk!. 90, Big room family room. ( 1

.

See quots. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 913.6, Rancher; cattlethe owner. 1968 Adams Western Words, man Spec, big sugar, A cowboy's name for the owner of the ranch. Big sugar

big

a 1883

.

n

The big sticks. 1968 Adams Western Words. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes.

Big rock.

is

—

for the general superintendent.

1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 512.5, Logging

big road.

Cf big house 3

room n =big house

Foreman.

.

.

or penitentiary.

1967-69

.

big stick n [Prob from big stick coercive force]

main road or highway. 82 1

.

Western Words, Big savage

.

show

big

big road n chiefly Sth, Midi

( 1

Adams

big shoat n [shoat a young hog of either sex] 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Big shoat Euphemism for boar.

1967

1818

1968

tbig star n [From the star-shaped badge] as [a]

square dance.

A

name

logger's

.

1

2

.

savage n

big

AmSp

feet in

game

.

of-the-Earth. Bigroot Morning-glory.

1 also big circle: In marble play: a large circle drawn on the ground; a marble game using such a circle; see quots 1 958, 1 973.

1934

.

.

native to the Pacific coast.

and bladdery, often spiny Also called bitterroot

chilicothe, man-in-the-ground, manroot, old

4,

man, wild cucumber

1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 26, Seeing its rather delicate ivy-like habit above ground, one would never dream that it came from a root as large as a man's body From this root, it has received two of its common names, "big-root" and "man-in-the-ground." 1925 Jepson Manual Plants CA 66 1 Big Root Fusiform or globose roots, sometimes as large as and not unlike the shape of a man's body. 1973 457 Bigroot, Manroot. Hitchcock- Cronquist Flora Pacific .

.

.

,

.

.

.

NW

',

2 A balsamroot (here: Balsamorrhiza sagittata). 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 558, Arrow-leaf Balsam-root, Big Root ... A very handsome plant. 1963 Craighead Rocky Mt. Wildflowers 197, Bigroot Clumps of large leaves and naked stems arising from thick taproot. .

.

.

Boastful, blustering.

Sandoz Jules 2 34 wNE (as of 880 - 9 30), She knew what a shock would be after Jules's big-talk letters.

1 935 it

1

1

—

big tide See big water big time n widespread, but esp Sth,

S Midi

A convivial

party or celebration; an enjoyable time. 1863 in 1903 Norton Army Letters 183 PA, The brigade was flying round, getting into line, drums beating and a big time generally. 1937 in 1972 Amer. Slave 2.1.222 SC, Dem cornshuckings wuz big times, dat 1941 LANE Map 414 throughout NEng, The map dey wuz. shows general terms for a social gathering or party, usually pri(as of 1900- 1918), vate: big time. 1942 Warnick Garrett Co. Big time, lots of fun, also used ironically as "They had a big time at Smiths when he came home drunk." 1956 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC. A very good cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. FF17, last night. ") 23 Infs, esp Sth, S or enjoyable time: "We all had a .

.

.

MD

.

.

.

.

.

1

bigtoter

237

Midi, Big time; (Qu.

FF

1

-They certainly

VA29,

92, 69,

8,

.

.

A

noisy or boisterous celebration or party:

MD26, MN30, NC45, RI 7, 2, A meeting where there's a lot

last night. ") Infs

Had a big time;

(Qu.

KK

1

of talking: "They got together yesterday and had a real

GA28, LA32, M034, Big

AA18,

time; (Qu.

.

.

A

')

Infs

To

DARE Tape KYI 6, A big log washed up in big tide. flood.

1970

DARE

Common.

a adj phr

in

[bill

DN

DN DN

wheels n

Also big-wheel rig chiefly Nth

pi

1941 FWP Guide WA 73, A high-wheeled carriage or "big-wheel rig" was chained to a log and rolled away the whole looking like an underslung siege gun. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW. 1967 DARE Tape MI47. 1968 Adams Western Words, Big-wheel rigs In logging, the huge carts that carried logs suspended beneath their 15-foot-high wheels. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng, Gt Lakes. 1970 Addit MI 12 1 Big wheels Used for hauling logs out of the forest in summer.

—

—

DAREFW

fool he don't bill her.

pocketbook; a billfold. 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 101/1 (OEDSj, Seal grain leather bill book, size 3'/2 x 8 inches. 1905 New York Times (NY) 3 Feb 3/4, In a billbook in an inside pocket were many checks for various sums on Pocket-book. 1906 DN 3.126 nwAR, Bill-book Plainfield banks. "He lost a bill-book between here and Pleasant Plains."

,

.

.

Brown's big black hog n DN 3.70 nwAR, Bill Brown's game played by children.

.

winnebago n

1905

big black hog

n

bile See boil

1 ,

DARE (Qu. DD )

Infs

6, To have a drinking bout and get drunk is DE3, MA40, NY226, Bilge. 1

bilious, (the) n old-fash

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

DARE

.

.

Bilious.

1

The

1

proboscis of an insect (as a mosquito or

tick).

1939 ( 962) Thompson Body & Britches 1 33 NY, A swarm of mosquihad hit that pan so hard that thev drove their bills into it. 1967 1

DARE (QR

pi 24) C022, Black tick will put his bill into you— goes 1981 Broaddus Coll. ceKY, This spring, in Rockcastle County, Ky. a man used "bill" to describe whatever it is a tick sticks into one, or

MS

—

.

.

1967 Addit swAR, Billet— a 5' 5" piece of wood to be used for Memories 2, In the big kitchen range the pulp. 1968 Coatsworth billets are snapping and sighing in the firebox and the coffee is already stretch

two wires and

staple cypress blocks to them.

DARE FW

ME

boiling.

in.

.

.

1

.

Hook

.

.

1

1

bill.

2

[Short for

bill

of divorce]

DN

1.340

wCT,

Bill: to get

n

billfish

Any of var "beaked"

saltwater fishes of the families Istiophor-

and Xiphiidae.

1793

in

1794

MA Hist. Soc. Coll.

lstser 3.1 19,

a bill

=

2

to get a divorce.

1901

DN

NY. 1907 DN 3.24 eME. 1912Z)A'3.566NY. 1926DA5.385

We also have the bill-fish

month of October. 1955 Times-Dispatch (RichSept 34 (Hench Coll.), The Ocean City white marlin fleet

in great plenty in the

mond VA)

2

had landed a

total

of 488 of these

with a long narrow

fast bill fish [a fish

beak].

=longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus). 1820 Rafinesque Ohio R. Fishes 88, Common in the Wabash, called Gar or Billfish, two feet long and quite slim; bill six inches and pointed. is also applied by 1884 in 1887 Goode Fisheries U.S. .458, 'Bill-fish' our fishermen to the slender species [of silver garfishes] of the swordfish is family. Ibid 663, The Long-nosed Gar-pike, Lepidosteus osseus, 2

1

NEast Cf bill v

divorce; see quots.

1894 136

.

.

MS

ME,

,

1837 Peck Gaz. IL 11, A billet of charred wood [is] buried [to mark a survey corner], if no rock is near. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Billett ... A stick of wood, such as cut for firewood. 1902 White Blazed Trail 14 MI, Mike cut a short thick block, and all three stirred the heavy timber sufficiently to admit of the billet's insertion. 1938 FWP Guide All cnMS, Farmers in this area cut a few pines, sell the "billets," and plant a crop of corn where the trees formerlv stood. 1966 DARE Tape Kinds offences) Inf LA 10, ME26. Billets. 1967 DARE (Qu. L65,

idae

2.

a short

n 2 also attrib Also sp billett Cf billy n 2 chunk of wood; a small log, often used for firewood.

2 freq in combs: A person's nose, chiefly Sth, S Midi derog 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 121.69, Nose Beezer, bill. 1952 in 1960 Wentworth-Flexner5/a«^37, TheGI Bill of Rights allowed a lot of impoverished [ex-soldiers] to get educated instead of getting their bills busted. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. XI 4, The nose) Infs FL8, NC41, PA231, TN67, Bill; VA2, Hog bill; KY40, Knocker bill; (Qu. X 5, Different kinds of noses) Infs NC36, 76, TN23, 65, TX32, Hawk-bill; KY40, 6, VA24, Hawk-bill nose; GA 2, Bill nose; OR3,

A

";

1

1

n

.

bugs.

letter, or document. Letters, One day Charles Hi found a billet in the 1847 McCallum road. On opening it, found it to be a permit for a negro to be married. 1 968 DARE Tape IN 9. Sometimes you'd get a message [at a spiritualist meeting]. They'd take up billets, they called 'em. and you write questions and they'd take up those billets ['bibts] and if you happened to be called you got a message.

bites with.

bill

bill

1

Billet fence

toes

clean

a big old bug they call

A

1 3, The prevailing diseases of this country are bilious, which sometimes terminate in malignant typhus.] 1834 (1928) Underwood Jrl. 127 MA, After having partially recovered from the billious I was atacked with the fever and ague. 1858 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 260 NC, Leiza has had a smart atact of the Bilyows but is on the mend. 1970 DARE (Qu. BB13, Chills and fever) Inf

n

a

Any calandrid beetle of the genus SphenoDiet. Suppl, Bill-bug phorus, as the corn bill-bug. I960 Williams Walk Egypt 26 1 GA, Corn Tape SCI 2. Somehad fewer rotten ears from billbugs. 1966 what gets in the rice thing ate them [rice] seeds up before they matured

billet

Yellow or bilious fever. [1819 Thomas Travels W. Country 2

bill

The name of

ME

a binge.

See boiling n

TX103,

.

A note,

v

A drinking spree;

bilin'

.

n [OED billet a short written document, "Obs. informal letter, "arch. "]

Winnebago, Big (Greater Scaup).

bilge n [Perh punning alter of binge]

968 - 69 go on a

.

snout beetle of the subfamily Calendrinae. esp of the genus Sphenophorus. belongs to the family of 1861 Harper's Mag. 23.319/1, The next It is familiarly called at the South and Rhyncophorus, or "Weevils;" West, "Bill-bug," "Corn-borer," and "Cane-piercer." 1911 Century

billet

WI 218,

Birds

.

A

is

=greater scaup.

Gromme

.

Bill

.

1

" Said

billbug n

In logging: see quot 1968.

to

.

n2]

.

1903 2.306 seMO, The preacher got in a big way and you could hear him a mile. 1906 3.1 15 sIN, Big-way ... A noisy manner. "He's in a big-way." 1907 3.229 nwAR, seMO.

1963

.

A

flood.

Excited, agitated, vociferous.

big

.

billbook n

FW Addit swKY, Big water — a very high

big

v2

bill

divorce (one's spouse). 1885 Jackson Zeph 42 CO, He's a blamed

big water n Also big tide

big way,

DARE FW Addit seGA, "They'd bill him and bill him

To

IN9, MI49, 115, Big time.

1969

"obs"]

strike with the beak.

1969

big toter See big boy n 2

A

[OED and W3

1

of vultures attacking a small pig.

noisy neighborhood

1968-69 DARE Tapes

celebration after a wedding) Inf KY44, Big time.

v

bill

billfold

/

.

.

.

known

as

.

.

.

'Bill-fish.'

1

Bill

.

Universal.

.

.

Divorce. "Mrs. Jones has got a

1926

AmSp

said to have got a "bill."

2.81

bill

ME, A woman who

ME

from her husband." obtains a divorce

—

is

1975 Gould Lingo 2, Bill Maine word by the wife: "Myra's sending Harry her bill." 1

billfold

n widespread, but least freq

in

NEast, Pacific

See

Map

Cf wallet

A

for a divorce action started

1

pocketbook to carry folded paper money; a wallet. ELS (What do you keep money in when you carry it around with

950 W

.

billfolder

owl

billy

/

you?) 46 Infs,

WI,

238

DARE

1965-70

Billfold.

(Qu. U30) 557

Infs,

Billfold.

bee

billy

{billy

(martin) See billy martin

blue n Cf blue blazes

=billy hell.

1969

DARE (Qu.

B3) Inf IN71, Hotter than Billy Blue.

billy

boy See

billy

buster n [Perh Scots billy fellow, comrade + buster one who

strikes, beats,

1950

n

billy

1

1

or breaks]

WELS (Substitutes for stronger exclamations: "Why the son of a ")

cwVVI, Billy buster.

Inf.

1

billycock hat n

1906

DN 3.126 nwAR, Billycock hat

.

.

.

A

Derby

hat.

n Cf billy hell 1969 DARE(Qu. CC8, Other names for the devil) Inf KY2

{Billy Devil

tbilly

,

1

Billy Devil.

goat n

Effrontery, nerve, pushiness.

1

DARE (Qu. GG5, When someone does something unexpectedly bold or forward, you might say: "Well, she certainly has a lot of 1968

n

billfolder

[billfold

+ -er affix]

chiefly Sth,

=sawbuck.

2

Black speakers

1973 Allen

=billfold.

1909 Porter Options 35 NYC, When he drew out his bill-folder to pay cabman you couldn't help seeing hundreds and thousands of dollars in it. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. U30, What do you keep money in whenyou carry it around with you?) Infs KY94, MS60, M023, NC50. NJ22, SC26, 55, 63, Billfolder. [5 of 8 Infs Black] the

pi

1905 DN 3.70 nwAR, Billies Overalls and blouse. 'You'll have wear billies to do that dirty job.' Rare. .

.

.

to

(Qu. U17,

.

.

A person who

doesn't

pay

his bills)

Inf

1968

DARE

1935

may

combs

also attrib in

billy boy,

—

~ man: A

policeman's club] 1968 DARE (Qu.V9, A policeman) Inf PA70, A sheriff) Inf NC55, Billy man. (Qu. VlOa,

law enforcement

[billy a

.

.

.

Billy;

WI21, Billyboy;

seMO, Closely allied to the Toonerville concept is made to that nondescript neighborhood on the

.

binge. Cf bilge. DARE(Qu. DD16, To have a drinking bout and get drunk is to go )

Inf

AL4,

Billy.

EDD

,

—

of billet n 2 ] a5 1968 DARE (Qu. HH ) Inf SC59, Billy wood pulp wood, "He cuts billy wood."

n 2 also

—

1

foot section of wood; billy

—

barlow See

bean n

hawk

n Cf

killy

live)

C35) Inf

prostitution;

Inf

MI 108,

(Qu.

Billy-goat

hawk

Perh the sparrow hawk 1967

A

DARE (Qu. n Also

Q4,

.

.

1

Kinds of hawks) Inf SC46,

Billy

hawk.

euphem pronc-sp 5///y Hal Cf billy-be-damned freq used in compar phrr as an

desolate place, hell; havoc

—

965) Adams Log Cowboy 64 NM, It was no vague statement of man who said if he owned hell and Texas, he'd rent Texas and live in 1958 hell, for if this isn't Billy hell, I'd like to know what you call it.

1903

1

(

Coll., Today a University of] V[irgini]a fellow-teacher said: "The University President raised all sorts of billy hell about the schedule of courses of the Education Department." (The fellow- teacher was raised in Texas.) 1965-70 (Qu. B3) Inf IN30, Hot as Billy Hal; (Qu. ") Inf ND3, Billy hell; (Qu. "He's poor as U41b, ") Inf KY 1 1, Old billy hell; (Qu. HH22b, "He's meaner than

Hench

DARE

.

.

.

.

.

.

a big fuss

.

.

"He

")

Inf

NM9,

Raised

all

billy hell.

A

knife n Also billy barlow

pocket knife or barlow knife.

4.345 TN, Billy Barlow. = Barlow, a knife. 1951 Johnson 1916 Resp. to PADS 20 DE (A large pocketknife with blades that fold in and out) Barlow; billyknife. 1966 DARE (Qu. F39) Inf SCI 9, Billy knife.

DN

DARE (Qu.

billy

DARE (Qu.

1969-70 Hill. slummy place,

hill.

billy

apple n =mayapple.

billy

billy

—a

Part of a town where poorer people

.

KK1 1, To make

attrib [Alter

,

alley

the

1 billy sb. used in compounds in grasshopper. [Cf names of animals, birds, and insects] a black and yellow grasshopper. 1968 DARE (Qu. R6) Inf SC57. Billy

1970

Other wildflowers) Inf VA11, Billy-goat

intensive.

.

A

billy

10.80

Billy-goat

billy hell

3

.

be referred to as Billy-Goat

billy n>

A

.

n Also billy-goat alley or poor section of a town.

hill

AmSp

billy

—

1966 on a

(Qu. S26a,

the satirical reference

Bill-show n, also attrib 1944 Adams Western Words, Bill-show A wild west show such as Buffalo Bill's and Pawnee Bill's. Bill-show cowboy A show-off cowboy of the Buffalo Bill show type. 1967 DARE FW Addit cnNY, The Bill Show = the Buffalo Bill Show.

%2

Billy goat.

beard.

KY68.

Bill-jump.

officer,

.

=goats beard.

1125,

1

.

outskirts of a town. In this part of the state such a straggling settlement

DARE

PA 135.

.

The run-down

ibill-jump n

1968

LAUM1.221 csMN,Sawbuck (for firewood)

beard n

billy-goat

billy-goat

n

billies

Inf NY42, Billy goat.

")

esp among

S Midi

S4) Inf GA91, Billy apple.

billy knife billy

1957 Battaglia Resp.

to

PADS 20 e shore MD

(The smaller beans that

man

DN

cracker

Bedam chiefly Nth Cf billy hell In compar phrr used as an intensive: an extreme extent. Very dead. 1914 DN 4.71 ME, nNH, Dead as Billy-be-damned 1938 AmSp 3.74 cwOH, 'It was as cold as Billy Bedam' (accent on the

billy-be-damned n Also euphem sp Billy

.

.

.

1

1

jbilly-maria n

1908

are white when they are dry) Billy beans.

See billy n

billy

.

.

.

3.291

eAL, wGA, Billy-maria

...

A

populite, a country

hill-billy.

martin n Also billy bee (martin)

Cf bee martin

=kingbird. 1913 Bailey Birds VA 176, Tyrannus tyrannus DARE (Qu. Q14) Inf KY21, Billy martin; VA57, .

.

Billy Bee.

1969-70

Billy bee martin.

1

1958 VT Hist, ns 26.260, Colder than Billy be damned. (Billy 1968 DARE (Qu. hell, Billy Thunder.) Hotter than Billy be damned. ") Inf ND3, Billy-be-damned; (Qu. U41b, "He's poor as

dam).

.

HH22b,

.

.

.

"He's meaner than

")

Inf OH77, Billy-be-damned.

owl n esp CA =burrowing owl.

billy

1913 Pacific Coast Avifauna 9.5 1 CA, "Billy owl" is the name by which our smallest owl, is known to everyone. 1923 Dawson Birds CA

this,

239

billy

122, "Billy Owl" is the humorous and half affectionate name bestowed bv all good Californians upon this familiar sprite of the roadside. 1946 Goodrich Birds in ATS 317. 1951 Teale North Spring 44 FL, We are looking at the burrowing owl, the billy owl of the Florida prairies. 1

1967-69 billy

£.-(/?£ (Qu.

Q2)InfsCA22,

names of animals,

made by

used in Scots and n Engl dial

,

+

birds, insects;

whicker, in ref to the sound

the bird]

DARE

1970

VA43,

(Qu. Q18, Woodpeckers) Inf VA38, Billy-whickers; whicker ['hwika] big as a crow; [FW:] probably pileated

Billy

.

.

.

.

—

woodpecker. bilou n

.

is

the form

binder n In the tobacco industry: see quots. 1940 AmSp 5. 33, Binders. Leaves used as inside wrappers of cigars. 1966 DARE Tape FL24. Then it [=cigar tobacco] had what we call a binder. Then you'd tuck that binder and you'd roll that binder over this 1967 Key Tobacco Vocab. CT, PA, Binder ... Tofiller; FL26. Binder. bacco leaf used as inside wrapper of cigar filler. 1

pi: A brake, esp a hand brake. [Orig railroad jargon] 1943 AmSp 18.162 [Railroad terms], Binder. Hand brake. 1953 told Botkin Treas. Railroad Folkl. 326, The foreman [=conductor] this student to set a binder [=hand brake] on the first car in. 1954 AmSp 29.93 ["Hot Rod" terms], 'Hit those binders quick!'; i.e., put on the brakes fast. 1962 AmSp 37.267 [Language of traffic police], Binders Brakes. Most often used in referring to emergency stops. 'Hit the binders!' 1969 AmSp 44.202 [Truck drivers' jargon]. Binders

2 usu

.

In nursery use: see quot.

1969 Cagnon Franco- Amer. Terms 223 NEng, Bilou me clean your bilous."

.

.

[bilu]; [belu]

Nasal mucus. "Let

.

bim adv [Echoic; perh of Afr With a sharp blow.

origin]

Rabbit

hit

um, bim, wid eh

3

or woman sometimes used disparagingly. 1929 /ImSp 4.338, Vocabulary ofBums Bimbo Awoman. 1932 AmSp 7.329, Johns Hopkins Jargon Bim; bimbo a girl. 1950 WELS (An immoral woman) 1 Inf, csWI, A bimbo. 1969 DARE (Qu. AA22, Joking names a man may use to refer to his wife: "I have to go ") Inf CT23, Bimbo. down and pick up my .

.

.

.

—

.

—

.

bimeby adv Also sp bimebye, bumby(e), by-am-by, bymby

OEDS

[Alter of by-and-by (see EDD, bimeby(e)); prob reinforced in Sth by slave use since it was widespread in pidgin and Creole English of 1 7th cent and after]

1

exist as singular).

1.

DARE (Qu.

L31,

1930 Winslow Amer. Broadside 115/2 MA, Indian bimeby fort. 1844 Stephens High Life in NY2.6 1 CT, By-am-by, they all give out. 1 844 Thompson Major Jones 's Courtship 1 14 GA, Bimeby Bill Byers called out the names of all the lords and ladys what belonged to the court. 1867 Lowell Biglow 6 1 "Upcountry" MA, Your "You'll see «ex'time!" an' "Look out bumby!" / Most oilers ends in eatin' umble-pie. 1893 Shands Speech, Bimeby Negro for bv and by. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech. 1907 3.181 seNH. 1908 DN 3.29 eAL, wGA. 1922 Gonzales Black Border 290 sSC, GA coasts [Gullah glossary], Bimebye, bumbye bye and bye. 1925 5.358 [Gullah], An bymby [baimbai] ah hyeah de wahtah come splashin an nex de hollow soun when he fill up he pitchah. 1934 Hanley Disks seMA, He'd start to run, and bumbye the other'n 'd start run. 1950 PADS 14.17 SC [Black], Bumbye. Bye and bye. 1951 AmSp 26.26, Common expressions in the pidgin of Hawaii are bimeby (by-andby), wasamatta (what's the matter). 1967 DARETape HI4, Bumby you ask some people. 1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 126 HI, Bumbye, bymby Mean 'later', 'some other time'. in

take Captain Westbrook's

MS

.

.

.

The top bundle of a shock)

Infs

1

—

.

DN

.

.

.

.

A2

binacle See binnacle

bind v

4 See rubber binder. bindle n [Prob alter of bundle, or perh from Ger Biindel; Engl dial bindle is rare and differs in sense] esp among loggers and

hoboes

A bedroll

in

which one's belongings are wrapped.

Digest 53.425/1, A package is a "bindle," derived from "bundle." 1937 Steinbeck Of Mice 10 CA, George unslung his bindle and dropped it gently on the bank. 1942 AmSp 17.219 [Logger talk], Bindle. A blanket roll. 1954 AmSp 29.47, Bindle is homophonous with

1916

Lit.

P[ennsylvani]a G[erman] /bindal/ G[erman] Biindel 'package, bundle.' have several times heard this word used in English by bilingual speakers, but always jocosely as a deliberate and obvious borrowing from the dialect. 1 956 Sorden - Ebert Logger 's Words, Bindle, A blanket roll. A lumber-jack sometimes brought his belongings wrapped in his own blanket when he came to camp. Used in the East and in early logging in the Middle West. 1969 O'Connor Horse & Buggy West 45 cAZ, [He] strode up to the front gate carrying a tight neatly rolled "bindle," or bedroll.

bindle

n Also rarely bindle

stiff

laborer]

usu bound; also binded, infreq bount. 1842 Walker in 1940 Drury Pioneers Spokanes 171 ME, Stitched, pressed, and binded one and one half dozen of the first book in Flathead. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, They binded him over to court. 1962 Ml. Life Spring 7 s Appalachians, The -d and -ed endings of past forms of verbs are frequently pronounced -/, particularly when the ending is preceded by m, n, or r. A few such verbs are bound, bount; held, helt. 1966ZX4tf£(Qu. BB21) Inf OK25, Binded. 1967 DARE (QR p86) Inf HI3, Chains are binded so as not to hurt horses. 1

/,

v]

+ stiff vagabond, Also called blanket

[bindle

stiff

A

tramp; an itinerant worker.

1900 Willard Itinerant Policeman 167, Among the "Bindle Men," "Mush Fakirs," and "Turnpikers," of the middle West, the East, and Canada, there exists a crude system of marking "good" houses. 1901 in 1965 London Letters 1 26 CA, WyckofFonly knows the workingman, the stake-man, and the bindle-stiff. 1931 AmSp 7. 104 [Underworld argot], Bindle- stiff A bum who carries a bundle of belongings, usually tied in a handkerchief, or wrapped in paper. "Hard times bring back the bindle-stiffs." 1946 Peattie Pacific Coast 233 [Logger talk], The bindle stiff who got gay with the boss was a lucky boy if he lived with the wish to fight another day. 1952 Steinbeck East ofEden 46 CA, Before he knew .

.

.

InfsCA4, 66, 107,

Past:

man

scattered, but esp Pacific States

ithewasabindlestiffhimself.

Std senses, var forms.

Tape ID6, Bindle

1

10,

1965-70 DARE {Qu.\m\9,

MA58, VT12, VA25,

Bindle

stiff.

.Atramp) 1967 DARE .

stiff.

bindweed n

Any

of various species of Convolvulus, a perennial plant with twining, or erect stems and pink, purple, or white flowers. Also called devil's shoestring, glorybind, morning glory, tie-vine. For other names of various species see bell bind, California rose, cornbind 1, corn lily, creeping Jennie, hedge bindweed, lap-love, moonflower, possession vine, sheepbine, 1

trailing,

wild hollyhock, wild potato 1731 ( 754) Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina 1 .35, The Purple Bindweed of Carolina. The Flower of this Convulvulus [sic] is of a reddish purple, and of the size and shape of common white Bindweed. 1822 Eaton Botany 248, Convolvulus bindweed. 1903 Small Flora SE U.S. 965, Convolvulus Bindweed. 1961 Thomas Flora Santa Cruz 275 CA, Convolvulus Bindweed. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. S5, Wild morning glory) 2 Infs, widespread, Bindweed; VA24, Field bindweed; MI3 1 Upright bindweed; (Qu. S2 1 ) 11 Infs, scattered West, Bindweed. 1

A

sheaf or bundle (of grain, corn leaves, etc). 1902 DN 2.229 s\L, Bind. Sheaf, as: 'A bind of wheat.' 1903 DN 2.307 seMO. 1906 DN 3.126 nwAR, Bind. 1939 LANE Map 126 neMA, The map presents synonyms of sheaf [a bundle of wheat; a .

.

NC30,

.

DN

bind n [bind

.

Binder.

I

Presently, soon, before long.

bin v See be

.

.

OH50, WA8.

—

A girl

.

=cap n

1966-68

tarruh han.

bimbo n Also bim

.

.

— Brakes (does not

GA coast, Buh

1888 Jones Negro Myths 9

1722

.

.

1

31, 115, 163, Billy owl.

1

billy sb.

bindweed

/

Relic bind bundle of cereal grain, as of wheat or oats and by 2 North Dakotans. checked by one Iowan

1

whicker n [Cf EDD

whicker

—

'.

.

.

bind of corn]. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. L30a, When grain is cut it is (or used to be) tied up in 1968 ) Infs IA33, IL66, OK53, Binds. DARE Addit seKY, A local for-sale ad: "for sale, three hundred binds of blade-fodder." 1973 Allen LA .274, The name for a tied

FW

UM

1

.

1

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

a

bing

240

bird

/

2 =greenbrier (here: esp Smilax rotundifolia). ?obs 1 737 ( 1 9 1 1 ) Brickell Nat. Hist. NC 96, Prickley Bind- weed, or Sarsaparilla, is a kind of Prickley Vine, not unlike the former [Small Bamboo]. Rough 1837 Darlington Flora Cestrica 566, SfmilaxJ rotundifolia .

.

Bind-weed.

Any

3

MA

.

NH

.

.

A

4

.

.

.

PADS

.

.

.

Heliotropium convolvulaceum). Bind-weed TX, Heliotropium convolvulaceum

(here:

1

15.39

.

.

.

or tie-vine.

5 =morning glory (here: Ipomaea spp). 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 1 1, Bindweed:

.

.

.

Ipomaea.

Bing

1.520,

...

To

slap or hit.

night heron.]

bip into v phr [bip echoism for "to strike, hit"] 1893 Shands MS Speech 20, Bip into Used by illiterate whites to mean to attack with either words or blows. Two speakers are said to bip into each other, when they attack each other in a lively or severe manner; .

A

1

value ten cents,

.

.

1

|bing, on the n [Cf on the beam]

first

on the

but

now

start ")

he's really

working very hard: "He was slow at Inf

LA

1

1 ,

On

the bing.

Jbinky n See quot.

1

1912

DN 3.571

The

2

MN39,

.

.

.

Any

mechanical contrivance.

little

[Cf Scots bink a bench to sit on] The part of the body that you

buttocks.

DARE

1968

wIN, Binky

(Qu. X35,

.

.

on) Inf

+

binocle channel]

binnekill,

kil watercourse,

NY

[Du binnen Cf

old-fash

binnewater

A

side

1860

in 1901

said river at

DN2.

river; 1

a millrace.

down along the shore of mouth of the binacle, thence

32 cNY, Running thence

low water mark to a point

at the

up along the western

side of said binacle at low water mark. 1881 Burroughs Pepacton 27 NY, There was a whirlpool, a rock eddy, and a binocle within a mile. 1896 1.412 cNY, Binnacle: the flume of a mill stream, a mill race. 1901 2. 132 cNY, Along the course of the Susquehanna River, between Otsego, N.Y., and Afton, N.Y., the word binnacle is known. It has also been reported from Ithaca, N.Y., and Kinderhook, N.Y. binnekill. 1902(1968) In Ulster County, N.Y., Clapin Americanisms, Binnacle. In parts of New York, the flume of a

DN DN

.

.

.

.

mill stream, a mill race.

binnewater n [Du binnen within, inner

+ water] NY

Cf binnacle

A

small lake.

binny n See quot. 1908 DN 3.29 1 eAL, wGA, Binny "The baby has the binny-ache." 1

...

A nursery euphemism for belly.

of birch.

—

£

.

.

.

bird n

A

Forms. Prone: usu |b^d| and in

r-less areas |b3d|; also,

esp coastal Sth,

|b3id, bA(i)d|.

1927 Shewmake Engl. Prone. VA 41, Bird ... To give the prevailing omit r altogether. 1937 AmSp 12.169, The pronunciation of girl and bird in New York City, which is popularly represented as goil and boid, is one in which a diphthong somewhat like [ai] has developed. 1939 LANE Map 213 ce,neMA, [b3 A -dz, b3-dz, b3>-dz]. 1941 Ibid Map 292 neMA, [bs-dz]; sw,c,cw\T, [ba-dz, ba->dz, ba-dz, teidz]. 1941 AmSp 16.7 eTX [Black], Bird, burn, churn, occur with both [a:], as the typical, and [ai a ], as the occasional 1942 AmSp 17.150 seNY, Bird sound. 6 [informants] [3-] 1966 [see curl n 8 [informants] 6 [informants]. [31] [3] A]. cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural GA, [In southeast Georgia bird is most often pronounced [b^d], also (especially in coastal communities) [b3Kl], and occasionally [t»3-d].] Virginia pronunciation

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

quots.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

combs where possessive S Midi Cf hen egg

often occurs: See

chiefly Sth, r

Bird's egg. "I've got a big collection 1906.DA 3.126nwAR,£/raf-egg. of bird-eggs." 1908 DN 3.29 1 eAL, wGA. 1933 Miller Lamb in His Bosom 13 GA, Her mother had brought her three settings of eggs one of geese, long and white; one of guineas, small, speckled, curious-look1955 PADS 23.22 cwTN, ing, like bird eggs; and one of chickens. Knuckle down and bird eggs ... [In marble play] A call. cl960 Wilson 1965-70 Coll. csKY, Bird egg is regular; bird's egg sounds foreign. DARE(Q\x. W19) Inf MS72, Bird-eye cloth; (Qu. X21b) Inf M02, Bird eyes; (Qu. X37) Infs GA59, IN30, TX68, Bird legs; (Qu. EE6b) Inf 16, Bird eyes; (Qu. LL2) Inf OK31, Bird egg. .

.

—

MO 1

Senses.

In hunting: a quail,

chiefly Sth

95 1 ) Faulkner Sartoris 330 MS, He and Buddy tried for birds in the skeletoned fields in the rain in which the guns made a flat, mournful for duck and geese. 1966 or tried the stagnant backwaters sound AdditSC, ZX4.R£TapeNC36, 1 only have bird hunted. 1961 DARE specifically after quail; bird means quail to the hunter. Bird hunting 1968 DARE (Qu. Q7) Inf AL38, Local hunters use bird hunting Xo mean quail hunting; latter term is a sign of inexperience.

1929

1901 DN2. 1 33, In Ulster County, N.Y., in the vicinity of Kingston, two words exist side by side, binnewater and binnekill ... A binnewater is a lake. 1929 AmSp 5.154 eNY, For a time binnewater and cripplebush were current. [1968 DARE (Qu. C34) Inf NY87, Binnewaters— settlement of Protestants.]

2 See benny 2.

.

.

B old-fash

oil

[bicyclers]

1

2 used attrib in

branch of a

with

We

1 954 Forbes Rainbow 20 NH, We bought us birch beer and gingerbread and hunks of molasses candy as soon as the selling of such was authorized. 1968 DARE Tape NJ11, During the summer we always made birch beer. 1969 DARE (Qu. H78, Ordinary soft drinks, usually carbonated) Inf NJ56, Birch beer.

.

within, inner

made

—

.

sit

Binky.

binnacle n Also sp binacle,

NEast Cf spruce beer

drink, usu carbonated,

NYC, eNEng,

ball.

KJC29, To

Birch.

reached Bushkill at 12.30 P.M., stopping for birch beer at odd places. 1931-33L^Ar H 'orksheets csCT, Birch beer ... A soft drink, [it] is either light or dark.

1

DARE (Qu.

.

euphem, joe

1883 Wheelman 1.392/2 nePA,

used for gambling. Sierra County. 1936 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 28 Jan 1 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), Tokens minted by the federal government will be used as money among the colonists on the federal governThey already ment's agricultural project in the Matanuska Valley have been termed "bingles." 1959 Hart McKay's AK 29, The $5 and bingles were gold in color and all lesser denominations were silver in $ color. 1972 National Bank of Alaska advertisement Alaska Magazine A3 (Tabbert Alaskan Engl.), Way back when, you could do a lot of dealing with a bagful of beads and bingles. .

.

so also of pugilists.

birch n [Alter of bitch]

birch beer n

AK

A coin of little value; see quots. 1921 DN 5. 10 CA, Bingle ... A coin of base metal,

1967

.

WI71. YVV4.

NC Folkl.

bingle n chiefly

Energetic,

.

In phr son of a birch: used as an exclam. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. NN24, Humorous substitutes for stronger excla'.") Infs IL54, 66, MI55, NY214, mations: "Why the son of a

bing v [Echoic] 1952 Brown

1916 ZW4.422 LA, Biorque. The American bittern (Botaurus lentigin[1931 Read LA French 11, Biorque ... American Bittern This novel word seems to be connected with dialectal French bior, bihor, "bittern," whence has come French bihoreau, a species of

.

.

heliotrope

1951

biorque n [See quot 1931]

.

.

.

A

osus).

1840 Zool. & Bot. Surv. Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 1.102, Bindweed. 1891 Jesup Plants Hanover PfolygonumJ convolvulus Bindweed. 1903 Porter Flora PA 117, Polyg35, Polygonum, Fringed Black Bindweed. 1910 Graves Flowering onum cilinode Hedge, Bush, or Thicket BindPlants 163, Polygonum scandens weed Bush or Thicket Bindweed. Polygonum clumetorum 1966 DARE Wildfl QR PI. 1 5b, Inf WA30, Bindweed. .

bio See bayou

=bittern.

of various species of Polygonum; also Bilderdykia scan-

Cf smartweed

dens.

binocle See binnacle

( 1

.

.

.

—

.

FW

2 Std sense, but used redundantly, chiefly Sth, S Midi 1931 AmSp 7.94 eKY, Quail-bird, a bird similar to the bob-white with a Redunvery short tail. 1944 PADS 2.18 sAppalachians, -Bird dantly used after the names of birds: spar'-bird, wren-bird, etc. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. Q3) Inf FL7, Kite bird; (Qu. .

.

.

)

241

bird

Q8) Inf WA2, Loon bird; (Qu. Q 0) Inf IA29, Kingfisher bird; (Qu. Q Infs LA29, MD34, Crow bird; (Qu. Q14) Infs LA7. SD3, VA7, Canarv bird; MD20, MS63. Martin bird; (Qu. Q20) Inf LA8. Martin bird; (Qu. Q21) Infs LA22, NC30, Sparrow bird; KY39, Spar' bird. 1

1

3 See quot. [In ref to the eagle on the coin] 1950 WELS (Nicknames for $.25) Inf, csWI, A

A

bird.

\969DARE(Qw. KK14, Something that people disagree about:

"I have

to pick with you. ") Inf

KY28,

Bird.

.

.

To

scare

up or

flush

(game

)

Inf

WI52, Birds

.

AmSp

1953

.

.

28.144, Bird bath, Dutch bath. .

.

.

.

have

fairly

A member of

above words, and counting up to ten. The catcher must answer in the given time the name of some animal of the kind required, not already cited by some other player. Whoever fails to reply while the counting is going on, is out of the game. 1953 Brewster Amer. Nonsinging Games 34 IN, Bird, Beast, or Fish The leader points suddenly to one of the other players and says one of the above words. If, for example, the word is "fish," the player must name a fish before the leader can count to ten aloud. 1969 DARE (Qu. EE33) Inf NY126, Beast, bird, or fish same as "colors" but you'd have to guess whether the person who was "it" was .

.

fish.

similar to musical chairs.

See

NY 123, Bird, beast, or fish. 3 A children's game; see quot. 1961 DARE {Qu. EE3, Gamesin which you hide an object and then look Inf IA7, Bird, beast, or

=shooting

star,

chiefly

NVV and AK

1932 Rydberg Flora Prairies 626, Dodecatheon Bird-bills. 1936 Nature Mag. 27.354, Shooting star, or "bird bill", Dodecatheon frigidum, is a northern representative of this group of lovely plants, members of the Primrose family, that boasts one or more species in most localities in temperate North America. Whether in eastern woodlands, on the .

.

sagebrush plains of the West, or in the mountain meadow, this perkyflower is always a welcome sight. Wild 1938 (1958) Sharpies Flowers 45, Dodecatheon The sharp dart, poised for striking, suggests another common name, "Bird's Bill." 1959 Anderson Flora 375, Dodecatheon The various species of this genus are known Bird Bills. 1963 Craighead Rocky Ml. Wildflowers 143, Shootingas star Other names: American Cowslip, Birdbills. 1969 DARE (Qu.

AK

.

.

.

AK

.

.

.

.

.

.

S26d)InfM015, Bird's 2 =Johnny-jump-up. 1967

alter of buttock]

cl970 Halpert Coll. wKY, landing on the buttocks. bird

Knocked on your bird dog = knocked down,

dog v

1967

DARE

"He's always

(Qu. Y29b, About a man who doesn't stay ") Inf WA22, Bird dogging.

home much:

^bird-dogger n 1967

DARE (Qu.

else's favor:

II20a,

A person who tries too hard to gain somebody

"He's an awful

bird eater n

[From

")

Inf SC40. Bird-dogger.

eat like a bird to be a fussy or light eater]

A person who

eats little or is finicky about food. 968 - 70 DARE (Qu. H 1 2. Ifsomebody eating a meal takes little bits of food and leaves most of it on his plate) Infs CA77, IL 1 3 Bird eater.

bird

egg See

,

bird-egg bean 3

bird-egg bean n 1 A dark red bean. 1968

DARE (Qu.

117) Inf

MD24,

Bird-egg beans.

2 =black-eyed pea. 1969 DARE (Qu. 119) Inf PA210, Bird-egg beans.

3 also bird egg: See quots. 1954 Harder Coll., Bird-egg beans round, sort of look like a bird egg with little red specks. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. 120. Other kinds of beans that are grown around here) Infs PA2 1 3, VA24. VVI49. Bird-egg beans. 1976 Wanigan Catalog 4 MA, Bird Egg Bean A buffhort type, blunt oval. lavender bloom. Late here. Ibid 4. Bird Egg Not like a bird's egg or the others with the name. It is a black seed. round to oval .

.

.

.

.

.

.

with tan specks. Early.

bird-egg pea n Also bird's-egg pea [See quot 1950] A western milkvetch (Astragalus ceramicus) which has inflated ovoid pods mottled with purple. Also called painted pod, rattlepod 1 See also rattleweed 1 1930

OK

Univ. Biol. Surv. Pub. 2.66, Astragalus pictus Bird-egg 1936 Winter Plants NE 102, Long-leaved Painted Pod. Bird-egg Pea. In sandy soil in western Nebr. 1950 Stevens ND Plants 1 84. Long-leaved Milkvetch The papery pods are very striking and their spotted appearance has given rise to the name "Birds.

.

.

Pea. Long-leaved Astragalus.

.

bills.

.

.

.

.

.

egg Pea."

DARE

OR 13, bird

dog n [Perh joe The buttocks.

—

n

.

S13) Inf IN14, Bird dock.

fish.

bird berry See bird cherry 2

bill:

DARE (Qu.

1

DS EE2

1950 WELS (Games with an extra player: at a signal the other players change places, and the extra tries to get a place) 1 Inf, en WI, Bird, beast or fowl [sic]. 1968 DARE (Qu. EE2, Games that have an extra player) Inf

also bird's

.

1

thinking of a beast, bird, or

1

.

.

—

bill

215.

dock n [Folk-etym] =burdock 1.

bird

n

1883 Newell Games & Songs 140, Beast, Bird, or Fish ...

bird

IS. Trees

bird

1968

the party throws to another a knotted handkerchief, saying one of the

it)

.

and wipe-off are baths

.

All these terms apparently

1 also beast, bird, orfish: A children's guessing game (method of play varies locally): see quots. Cf colors

for

.

.

2 also bird berry: =pepper vine. Bird berry, Waccamaw 1916 Torreya 16.23%, Ampelopsis arborea Plantation. S[outh] C[arolin]a. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 1 3 1 C.

bird battling See bird knocking

A game

.

,

wide usage.

2

.

arborea. Pepper-vine. Bird cherry, snow-vine.

minimum of water

bird, beast, or fish

.

.

Cf cat bath

bird bath n requiring a

it.

.

.

Little Checklist

birds).

1968 DARE (Qu. P39b, Ifthe dog makes a bird or coveyfly, you'd say he

.

.

.

bird v

.

.

.

.

.

a

.

.

.

point of contention or disagreement.

bird-eye bean

b =pin cherry, chiefly Nth, esp NEng 1785 Marshall Arbuslrum 113, Prunus-Cerasus montana. Mountain Bird-Cherry-Tree The fruit ... is smaller, of a red colour, and an extremely acid taste. 1843 Torrey Flora NY 1.196, Cerasus PennsylBird Cherry Fruit the size of a large pea. red, austere, vania 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 240, Wild Red scarcely eatable. Bird Cherry (Me., N.H., N.Y., Pa., Cherry Common Names 1917 (1923) Rogers Trees Worth Knowing 153, Minn., Iowa). The birds enjoy the cherry grows in rocky woods bird The and in many burnt-over districts, the bird-sown ruddy little fruits pits strike root. 1969 DARE (Qu. 146) Inf MA25, Bird cherries. 1979 .

1

%4

1

/

(Qu. S3) Inf OR3, Birdbill, same as Johnny-jump-up; Birdbill or Johnny-jump-up.

bird

eye n

1968

cage n

DARE (Qu.

EE6b. Small marbles) Inf

MO 16. Bird eyes.

bird-eye bean n

In railroading: see quots.

1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 333, Bird cage Brakeman's or switchman's lantern. 1968 AmSp 43.285, Birdcage. Switchtender's kerosene lantern, so named for the wire frame that surrounds and protects the

also bird's-eye bean, ~ pea: =black-eyed pea. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. 119) Infs MD24. ND1, Bird-eye beans; NY75, OH38, VA2. Bird's-eye beans: KY62. Bird's-eye peas.

glass shade.

2 also bird-eye:

—

1966-68

bird cherry n 1

Any

1

of var small-fruited cherry trees

—

as:

a Std: either of two trees the mazzard cherry (Primus avium) or the European bird-cherry (P. padus) cultivated and some-

—

times naturalized locally in the United States.

Any

DARE (QR

of var other beans: see quots. near Qu. 119) Inf ND1. Birdeye beans— the

—

yellow string beans; (Qu. 120) Infs MD21. Bird-eye beans brown, white speckles; VA13. Bird-eye bean brown with yellow eye: VA9. Bird-eyes like a black-eyed pea. halfway between a black-eyed pea and a bean.

—

—

— bird-eye maple

bird's

/

242

bill

bird-eye maple See bird's-eye maple bird-eye pepper n Also bird-eye, bird's-eye pepper SAtl, Gulf States Cf bird pepper

A small

hot red pepper.

1966-68 DARE (Qu. I22a) Infs AL15, FL37, LA Bird-eye peppers; LA28, Bird-eye pepper or cayenne pepper; LA43, Bird-eye peppers small that's what they make Louisiana red-hot sauce out of; G A3, 28, LA2, 15, Bird-eye peppers; NC79, Bird-eyes put in vinegar to make sauce; NC81, Bird-eyes; LA3, MS2, 16, 73, SC43, TX36, Bird's-eye peppers; FL31, GA1 1, SC22, Bird's-eye peppers; SC4, Bird's-eye pep1

—

pers

1

,

—

— round,

pea-size.

T17,

knocking vbl n Also bird battling

Bat fowling: see quots. 1950 PADS 14.14 SC, Bird-battling ... Bat-fowling; beating the bushes or trees where birds are roosting at night, dazzling them with lights, and striking them down with sticks or brushes. cl974 Jones Ozark Hill Boy 9 AR (as of cl920), Bird knocking was a common sport Every new ground had huge brush piles being dried in preparation for burning. These piles made excellent roosting shelters for all types of birds The brush heap was surrounded with boys each of whom had a torch held high over the head in one hand and a small thorn bush in the other. Someone would kick the brush heap and the birds would flutter above the heap, having been blinded by the lights. The thorn bush frails went into action and the dead birds were gathered up to be cleaned, salted, and roasted. .

.

.

Kinds ofpine

.

.

trees) Inf

.

.

.

Cf

bird's-

=lodgepole pine.

DARE (Qu.

bird

.

bird-eye pine n [Prob from the knots in the wood] eye maple 1967

someone; he guesses the bird, and if it's the one in the cup, they throw the (in the thimble) in your face.

water

WY1, Lodgepole—

bird-eye.

.

bird-minder n

SC

bird-foot (trefoil) See bird's-foot trefoil

One who

bird-foot (violet) See bird's-foot violet

act of so doing.

bird

grape n

1 A vine (Vitis munsoniana), native to Florida and Georgia, which produces small, nearly black grapes. Also called bullace 2, everbearing grape, little muscadine grape, mustang grape

1920 Torreya 20.23, Vitis munsoniana Everbearing, bird or mustang grape. 1942 Amer. Joint Comm. Horticult. Nomenclature Std. .

Plant

Names

.

.

278.

2 Perh =catbird grape.

1968

DARE

(Qu. 146) Inf

MD12,

Bird

grapes— small, dark blue or

hawk n 1

hawk

or the sparrow

or a similar bird. 1832 Williamson Hist. 1.141, The Whet saw frequents logging camps; and is thought to be the same as the Bird-hawk, though as to this 1967-68 DARE (Qu. Q4) Inf KY31, Bird hawk (a naturalists differ. 1,

ME

MD36,

falcon);

Bird

hawk

Bird

— various

.

— only

hawk sizes;

in

marsh, looks

.

.

MD48.

like big owl;

—

MN12, Swallow hawk

take bird; a smaller hawk; NJ22, Bird NJ39, Bird hawk (merlin).

hawk

will or bird hawk (merlin) or pigeon hawk;

—

.

hawk— small,

—

1 ,

—

Bird

eats birds;

MD32,

42, Bird

.

.

.

.

hawk— small,

NC80, Bird hawk (may be the chicken hawk); UT5, VA46, hawk a small one; VT10. Bird hawk smaller than chicken hawk. [Note: some of these Infs may refer instead to bird hawk 1.] catches birds;

—

75, Bird

—

Cf ASE20 Seequot 1969.

birdie n

1950

WELS

.

Washington See Washington eagle [From the shape of the

bird-on-the-wing n Also bird- wings flower]

=fringed polygala. 1896 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 9.182, Polygala paucifolia bird-on-the-wing, M[ain]e. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 270, Fringed Milk.

wort

.

.

.

.

.

.

in the

.

Wildwood."

.

.

.

Rare.

.

poppy

(here:

Argemone mexicana).

Satan n =blue jay. 1959 Names 7.112, Very generally associated with Hell and the Devil in southeastern folk-lore is the blue jay some Virginia negroes.

.

.

and

it is

called bird o' Satan

.

.

Mexican Poppy

...

is

also called bird-in-the-bush.

1966-69

DARE (Qu. Q2) Infs ME22, Bird owl (catches birds); MAI 5,

Bird owl.

bird-peck n Also chicken-peck 1966 DARE (Qu. X34, The navel) Inf NC22, Bird-peck; SC32, Chicken-peck; [GA75, Where the chicken pecked you; GA59, Where the goose pecked; NC6, Where the hen pecked you]. bird

.

pepper n

var thereof)- See also bird-eye pepper, chilipitin 1 785 ( 1 925) Washington Diaries 2.383 VA, Next to this are two rows of the Bird pepper. 1890 Harper's Mag. July 230/2 TX, The tiny bird-peppers, brilliant in hue, small as a pea, hot as fire. 1906 Low Some Recoil. 9 (as of 830s), The men all liked to work for me except when we had a thousand or more bags of bird peppers (small red peppers). 1913 Torreya 13.234, Capsicum baccatum Bird peppers, Cameron, L[ouisian]a. 1953 Greene -Blomquist Flowers South 106. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. I22a) Infs FL8, Bird peppers; FL23, Bird peppers— small also called bird pepred ones; NJ56, Bird peppers; TX1 1, Chilipitin 1976 Bailey -Bailey Hortus Third 219, Capsicum ... anpers. Var. glabriusculum Bird pfepperj. Includes the wild or nuum spontaneous forms, ranging from s. U.S. and Mex. to Colombia.

A children's game: DARE (Qu.

see quot. EE3) Inf FLU, Bird-in-the-cup— They say

this to

.

.

—

.

bird-in-the-cup n 1966

by

bird owl n

.

1892 Garden and Forest 5.614, In Massachusetts the Argemone Mexicana is Bird-in-the-bush. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 44, AfrgemoneJ 1936 Whitehouse TX Flowers 34, Mexicana Bird-in-the-bush. .

.

bird o'

1

bird-in-the-bush n prickly

.

My

A small hot red pepper (Capsicum annuum or C.frutescens or a

Little birdies.

birding vbl n [Perh folk-etym for burden chorus, refrain] 1944 PADS 2.32 NC, Birding Singing a part in a song such as "Oh come, come, come, come ..." which accompanies the lead tune in

A

.

This species, often called by the children "Bird-wings," is an exceedingly dainty and delicate perennial. 1949Moldenke/lwer Wild Flowers 50, Best known in the north is the fringed milkwort or bird-on-the-wing. 1951 Graham Window 176 (Hench Coll.), Most of our spring flowers appear in the bogs and marshes: bird-on-thewing!

.

1969 DARE 1 Inf, seWI, Birdies— dust rolls. of dust that collect on the floor under beds or other

rolls

CA 126,

"The Church

.

Suppl..

(Qu. E20, Soft furniture) Inf

in the planting season patrolled the

1937 Heyward Madagascar 32 SC, Some planters thought that by putting "bird-minders" in their fields they would decrease the damage. 1941 FWP Guide SC 389, Plantation 'bird-minders,' armed with muskets, tin pans, and rawhide whips, were stationed on the banks to scare the marauders away. fields.

.

2 =sharp-shinned hawk. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 2.66, Sharp-shinned Hawk ... Other Names. Pigeon Hawk; Sparrow Hawk; Bird Hawk. 1923 Dawson Birds CA 1657, Sharp-shinned Hawk... "Sparrow" Hawk. Bird Hawk. 1953 Jewett Birds WA 163, Accipiter striatus velox Bird Hawk. 1954 Sprunt EL Bird Life 103, The Sharp-shin is one of the "bird hawks." 1966-70 DARE (Qu. Q4) 19 Infs, scattered, but chiefly east of Missip R, Bird hawk; FL5 bird hawk same Chicken hawk hawk; MD13, Bird hawk small, catches birds and baby chickens;

MD22,

who

used by the bird-minders,

bird of

A small hawk, such as the pigeon hawk

1

1936 Smith-Sass Carolina Rice 27 SC, The work of bird-minding commenced. Men with muskets and cracking whips, women and children with whoops and clapping shingles kept the birds from "settling" and incidentally from eating seed-rice. Ibid 67, They [=muskets] were

bird of death See death bird

black, with seeds.

bird

away from a crop; also bird-mindingihe

frightens birds

bird's

.

bill

.

.

See bird

bill 1

.

.

]

bird's-egging

243

One's

.

.

SE WA

business.

affairs,

and foothill deervetch (L. humistratus). 1956 St. John Flora Trailing Bird-foot. 1965-70 224, Lotus Douglasii (Qu. L9a) Infs NY164, 200, 226. Bird's-foot; PA103, 132, Bird's-foot trefoil; (Qu.L9b) Infs 109, 113. 171, 187, 216, PA207, 2 12, 222, 230, Bird's-foot trefoil; IA6. PA218. Bird's-foot; CT24, IL1 16, NY93, Birdfoot trefoil; (Qu. S26a) Inf VT13, Bird's-foot trefoil. canus),

bird's-egging n arch 1854 Smith 'Way Down East 32 NEng, So now go on with your birds'-egging, and make your Christmas as fast as you please. 1896 DN 1.412 se,cNY, "That's none of my bird's-egging," that's none of my affair. "Go on with your bird's-egging" go on with your story.

.

.

DARE

.

NY

bird's-foot violet n Also bird-foot

bird's-egg pea See bird-egg pea

bird's nest

/

(violet), bird's-foot

[From the

shape of the leaves]

eye n

bird's 1

1

also bird's-eye primrose:

[OED

1597

—

Any of var primroses {Primula spp).

]

1822 Eaton Botany 409, Primula ... farinosa (bird's eye 1938 FWP Guide primrose 288, Also growing among damp, ). decaying leaves on the steep slopes facing the lake is the dainty little blue 1950 Gray-Fernald Manual of Botany birdseye or wild primrose. Bird's-eye-Primrose. Ibid 1 138, P. mistassin1 137, P. laurentiana Bird's-eye-Primrose. 1961 Smith MI Wild/lowers 285, Bird'sica Bird's-eye Primrose Primula mistassinica eye Primrose .

MN

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Primula

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

inter cedens.

An annual California plant (Gilia tricolor) which has pale to deep blue-violet flowers with purple-spotted 2 also birdseyes:

yellow throats. Also called pink eyes 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 288, Bird's-eyes. Gilia tricolor. 1915 The (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 394, Bird's Eyes flowers are in clusters, [with] two dark purple spots in the throat below each of the blue or whitish corolla-lobes, forming an "eye." 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 250, The birdseyes, G. tricolor, has similar leaves. 1961 Thomas Flora Santa Cruz 282, G. tri.

.

color

.

.

CA60,

.

.

.

.

Birds Eyes, Tricolor Gilia.

1968-69

DARE (Qu.

S26e) Infs

A perennial violet (Viola pedata),

most often

large,

light

purple flowers. Also called crowfoot violet, horseshoe violet, horse violet, Johnny-jump-up, pansy violet, piney-woods violet, sand violet, snake violet, velvet violet, wood violet pedata (birdfoot violet 1822 Eaton Botany 512, Viola ) leaves many-parted pedate. 1839 Columbian Reg. (New Haven, Conn.) 19 is sometimes called, bird's foot, or Feb 4/5 (DA). The pedate violet .

.

.

.

.

.

.

1965-70 DARE (Qu. S3) 15 Infs. scattered, Bird-foot violet; LA17, RI15, WI8. Bird's-foot violet; KY43, MA5, Bird's-foot; AL42, IL50, MA78, NY213, PA89, VA96, WI64, Bird-foot; (Qu. SI 1) Inf GA18, Bird's-foot; GA70, Bird's-foot violet. parsley violet.

2 =prairie violet.

1940 Clute Amer. Plant

DARE (Qu.

1965-66

Names 275,

S3) Infs

Viola pedatifida. Bird-foot violet.

NM9, OKI,

Bird-foot violet.

3 A western violet such as Viola beckwithii or V. hallii. 1934 Haskin Wild Flowers Pacific Coast 221, Bird-foot Violet. Hall's two upper ones violet; three lower ones yelViolet Petals, five; low Not found north of the Willamette Valley. 1966 Barnes -Jensen Diet. UT Slang, Bird-foot violet The reference is to the Western .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Pansy Violet (Violet

115, Bird's eye.

native chiefly to the eastern

US, with pedate leaves and

half of the

[sic]

beckwithii).

.

.

1967

DARE (Qu.

S3) Inf WA22,

Bird-foot.

bird's-eye

bean See

bird-eye bean bird's nest n

ibird's-eye gravy n 1

Prob =frog-eye gravy. 1967

DARE (Qu.

H37) Inf NC48,

Bird's-eye gravy.

A sugar maple (here: Acer saccharum) or the wood of such a tree distinguished by eyelike markings prob caused by a virus. 1807 J. Mease Geol. Account of U.S. 259 (DA), A species of maple

abounds in Nova Scotia, and no doubt, farther south, called bird-eye maple very beautiful. 1847 (1853) Thompson Locke Amsden 20, A small, neatly-made, oblong box, holding, perhaps, about a pint, which he had chiseled and cut out from a solid billet of the beautiful bird's-eye maple. 1904(1916)Porterirrec/cto59,Theytak', for instance, a burl maple bird's-eye they call it in the factory. 1967 DARE FW Addit ncNY, Bird's-eye maple describing a speckled surface quality of decorative finished maple. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. T3) Inf MI107, Bird's-eye maple; (Qu. T 4) Infs KY6, NY97, 211, OH42, WV7, Bird's-eye maple; (Qu. T16) Inf WV7, Bird's-eye maple. .

.

—

.

—

1

bird's-eye pea See bird-eye bean

bird's-eye pepper See bird-eye pepper bird's-eye primrose See bird's eye

pudding usu made of apples and and a sauce, chiefly NEast, esp

nest 2 1833 Child Amer. Frugal Housewife 63 (DAE), If you wish to make what is called 'bird's nest puddings,' prepare your custard [etc.]. 1896 DN 1.412 seNY, nOH, Bird 's-nest: a fruit pudding, in which any kind of 5. 1 56 pudding fruit may be used. Also called apfel-kuchen. 1922 NY, Bird's nest ... a fruit pudding. 1934 Hanley Disks seMA, We always called them bird's nest puddings, but it wasn't a whole dish. It was made and the dough was filled with the apples and then baked. Ibid swVT, That's what they call a bird's nest They used to melt up some sugar to put on it. 1939 Wolcott Yankee Cook Book 191 NEng, Yankees differ widely as to what a Bird's Nest Pudding should taste like. The only ingredient on which all agree is apples. In Connecticut they pour a baked custard mixture over apples ... In Vermont, where maple

DN

.

.

.

sugar is widely used, they serve a sour sauce over the pudding. In Massachusetts, where there are comparatively few maple trees, they serve it with shaved maple sugar. 1941 LANE Map 292 scattered throughout NEng, An old-fashioned dish made of apples and biscuit Bird's nest (pudding). dough .

1

1969

.

.

DARE

(Qu. H29,

A round

cooked

cake,

bird's foot See bird's-foot trefoil, bird's-foot violet

.

bramble n =strawberry bramble.

bird's-foot

n Also

[See quot 1899;

five leaf-

bird-foot (trefoil),

OED

—

1833

bird's-foot (deer-

Any of several deervetches, but esp the cultivated Lotus corniculatus widely

grown

hay and forage; the ground honeysuckle. for

1802 Drayton View of SC 65, Wild carrot, or bird's nest. (Daucus.) Wild carrot, Daucus carota. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 11, Birds' nest, 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.89, Daucus Carota bird's nest, N.J. 1912 Mathews Amer. Wild Flowers 306, The aged flower-cluster curls up and resembles a bird's nest, from which circumstance the plant [Daucus carota] derives that name. 1931 Harned Wild Flowers Alleghanies 344, Wild carrot curls gracefully into the semblance of a bird's nest, by which name it is frequently called. 1950 WELS (Other names in your localityfor Queen Anne's Lace) 4 Infs, Bird's nest. 1965-70 DARE\Qu. S6, Other names around here for Queen Anne's Lace) 1 Infs, 7 in Upper Missip Valley, Bird's nest; FL27, Bird's nest plant. .

.

latter is also called

babies' slippers 2, 1889 Century Diet. 561, Bird's-foot trefoil, the popular name of Lotus corniculatus: so called because its legumes spread like a crow's foot. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 230, Lotus Bird's-foot Trefoil. 1934 Haskin Wild Flowers Pacific Coast 20 The umbels of the pink bird's.

1

foot are raised

Hdbk. West

.

.

.

.

.

,

1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant deervetches ... are distributed throughout the being birdsfoot deervetch, (L. ameri-

on slender stems.

WHO, The examples

with jelly

.

.

.

vetch)

fat,

1597—]

1949 Peattie Cascades 238, Rubus pedatus, with three to lets ... is sometimes called bird's-foot bramble. bird's-foot trefoil

deep

in

NH16, Bird's nest. 3 See quot. Cf bird-peck Thenavel) Infs NC82,VA35, Bird's nest. 1968-70£yj?£(Qu.X34, 4 also bird's-nest plant: =wild carrot. [See quot 1902; OED inside) Inf

See feathers, feathers, animal's feathers

fly

A

crust

2 See quot.

birdseyes See bird's eye 2 birds

dough

NEng Cf crow's

bird's-eye maple n Also bird-eye maple

.

also bird's-nest pudding:

often having a

.

.

.

.

.

1

5 also bird's-nest plant: =Indian pipe 1. [From the tangled mass of roots] Cf giant bird's nest 1784 in 1785 Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Memoirs 1.442, Birdsnest. Blossoms yellow. About Great Ossapy pond, in New-Hampshire. .

.

.

bird's-nest fern

244

birthing

/

Wood Class-Book 380, Bird's nest [is] common in woods, near the base of trees,

1847

.

plant

.

.

.

.

.

1889 Century

said to be parasitic.

a small, succulent

on whose roots

Diet., Bird's-nest

.

a parasitic

[is]

.

it is

ericaceous plant the leafless stalks of which resemble a nest of sticks. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 252, Indian-pipe Nest-root, Bird's-nest .

.

.

.

plant.

bird's-nest fern n

198,

MfonotropaJ hypopitys

.

.

Bird's-nest,

.

=snake

[OED 1858—]

NC, Sept

10

nest

cotton.

weed

birds in

(a

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Occasional.

.

n

(Qu. I28b, Kinds of greens) Infs KY40, Bird's toe— not synonymous with crowsfoot; KY42, Bird's toe small white root, pink blossom, grows in rocky places.

—

=knotweed.

[See quot

1

889]

1899 Century Diet., Bird's-tongue The name is from the shape of its leaves. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 300, PfolygonumJ aviculare Bird's-tongue. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 160 CT. .

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bindweed

1969

1

DARE (Qu.

S5) Inf MI93, Bird's-tongue.

$bird tongue n joe 1940 AmSp 5.446 eTN, Bird tongues. An extra dish of food. 'We had bird tongues for supper.' [Reported by at least five Infs] 1

birdweed n 1 =knotweed. .

onum

.

.

.

arviculare

[sic].

2 =smartweed. 1951 PADS 15.30 TX, Persicaria longistyla

wheat n [From

.

.

.

on a

and

floating log

rotate

with one's

it

feet;

birler n, birling vbl n.

1904 White Blazed Trail Stories 4 MI, "Birling match," he explained Ibid 7, They commenced to birl the log from left to right. Ibid

briefly.

still

champion

trod the quarter-deck as

birler for the year.

1933 Natl. Geog. Mag. 63. 166, From the lumber camps throughout the Northwest come sawyers, axmen, "tree toppers," and "birlers." 1938 (1939) Holbrook Holy Mackinaw, Birling. The loggers' game of logrolling. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NErtg, Gt Lakes, Birl To rotate a floating log by treading upon it to find the water mark. Birling The logger's game of rolling often played on log drives. Two players wearing calked shoes spun a log to see how long their opponent could stay on without being thrown .

—

birm See berm birth v chiefly Sth,

S Midi Cf born v

give birth (to).

1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 209 SC, "Do Jedus," she cried out in alarm, "don' le me fall an' broke my leg today. I got some birthin to do my own sef before long." [She is pregnant and near term.] 1938 Rawlings Yearling405 FL, Heap o' good it do a woman to birth a mess o' young uns and raise 'em and then have 'em all go off to oncet. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. Kl 1, When a cow has a calf, you say she ) Inf MN33, Birthed a calf; (Qu. K45, When a mare has had a young horse, you say shejust ) InfsCA6, MI67, Birthed her colt (or foal); (Qu. W20, If somebody has no clothes on) Inf GA32, Has a birthday dress on 'cuz you ain't got nothing when you're birthed. 1969 Emmons Deep Rivers 6 eTX [Black], But Mary Willis was an old midwife and had helped lots o' women in birthin' their babies. 1972 Cooper NC Ml.

—

ibirthdame n

A

midwife. 1947 Adams Banner 149 NY (as of 1817-1847), "With a couple of birthdames." Noting the incomprehension in the other's face, she explained: "Midwives."

birdweed.

the resemblance of the capsules to grains of

wheat]

=haircap moss.

birthday clothes See birthday suit birthday party n 1906 DN 3A26imAR, Birthday-party A party to which one pays an admission fee based upon the number of birthdays one has had. .

1909 DN 3.408 nME, Bird wheat ... A kind of moss on old and barren 1947 Grout -Howe Mosses & Liverworts 39, The Hair-Cap

pastures.

Mosses, called Bird Wheat or Pigeon Wheat in many localities, are the largest of all our mosses. 1951 Dunham How to Know Mosses 163, In some localities known as "bird wheat." .

.

Folkl. 90, Birthed.

Rafinesque Med. Flora 65, Polygonum Aviculare Vulgar Birdweed. 1876 Hobbs Bol. Hdbk. 11. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 300. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 12, Bird Weed: Polyg-

1828

.

hence

MD) 12 Sept 7/3 (Hench Coll.) Hatteras Island vocabulary here] birk means birch.

Nth

In logging: to stand

To

bird's-tongue n

.

[In the

into the water.

DARE

1969

|t>3-l|

—

flushed.

dial]

—

snow n Cf blackberry winter 1946 PADS 6.6 swVA, Bird snow Late spring snow

bird

bird's toe

nEngl

.

drummondii

Cotton weed; bird's nesting material, used both for walls and lining, by many 15.30, Froelichia

range).

its

v

birl

10, Darrell

weed n

PADS

1951

bird

[Scots,

epiphytic fern (Asplenium nidum).

bird's-nest

2

n

birk

See quot. 1932 Sun (Baltimore

1873 in 1 966 Bishop Sandwich Is. 81/2, There were some superb plants of the glossy tropical-looking bird's-nest fern, or Asplenium Nidus. 1948 (1965) Neal Gardens HI 21, In the lower forests of Hawaii, the birds-nest fern perches as a large, dark green rosette of fronds on tree trunks and branches.

1

Of a bird-dog: in a manner indicating the nearby presence of game birds. 1970 WI Conserv. Bulletin Sept -Oct 20/1, The hunters were halfway around the hill when the dog began to act "birdy." The men were right up by the dog when most of the birds

6 =pinesap. 1900 Lyons Plant Names Yellow Bird's-nest.

An

birdy adv

.

bird wire n

DN

1927 5.473 Ozarks, Bird wire ... A four-foot piece of thin wire, with a weight at one end. Cast into a covey of quails or other birds this primitive weapon is quite effective, and is widely used among the boys in the Ozarks.

bird-work v

.

birthday suit n Also birthday clothes

Usu

in phr in one's birthday suit: Bare skin, nakedness. 1752 in 1897 Documents Colonial & Post-Revol. Hist. NJ 19.165, She was married to her Spouse (if not in a Wedding Suit) in her Birth Day Suit. al783 (1969) Williams Mr. Penrose 84, As to dress he was compleatly to be seen in his birthday suit without any manner of a disguise by art. 1933 Sun (Baltimore MD) 17 Aug 1/2 (Hench Coll.), The attorney "You are an optimist," Judge F today told counsel fan dancer at the Century of sought to attach costumes of Sally R Progress Exposition, for an alleged unpaid bill. Sally's costume, for the most part, consists of her birthday suit. The motion for attachment was naked. quashed. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, In one's birthday suit 1965-70 DARE (Qu. W20, If somebody has no clothes on at all) 229 .

bird-wings See bird-on-the-wing

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

See quots. 1923 (1946) Greer -Peine Angeline Doin' Society 1 csKY, Ruther than git in trouble, me and Lum decided to bird-work, so we tore out'n a side door, and kept a-runnin' atter we hit the street. 1933 AmSp 8.47 Ozarks, Bird- work ... To leap, to hop, to progress by a series of high jumps. "Last I seen o' Lem, he was a-bird-workin' down th' road like th' yaller-jackets was atter him." .

Infs, widespread, (In his) birthday birthday clothes.

suit;

1

.

.

9 Infs, scattered, In his (or their)

.

birth hole See

birthmark 2

birthing vbl n [birth]

The

chiefly Sth,

S Midi

act of giving birth; birth.

1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 72 SC, The whole earth was full of and growing. 1942 Rawlings Cross Creek 261 FL, Unfortu-

birthing

birthmark

245

mean pigs. 1942 Whipple Joshua 210 UT, Birthin's the same whether y're rich or poor. 1949 Arnow Hunter's KY, She had borne her first lamb: King Devil had stolen Horn and scared her in the birthing of the second. 1960 Williams that Walk Egypt 203 GA, More sorry women from being half-tended at

1952 Brown

nately, the spring birthings also

1

1

1

birthmark n

A

phobia or other defect supposedly induced in a fetus by the mother's (usu traumatic) experience; to mark in such a way. See also mark v 3 Cf birthscald 1935 Sun (Baltimore MD) 14 May 1/3-4 swIA (Hench Coll.), Her also verb:

1

father

.

.

mark."

her apparent inability to talk as a "birthMr. Wall told of the incident he believes "birthmarked" his

explains

.

.

.

.

daughter.

.

.

WA18,

To

cut up. "Aye, birtle a

bit,

Rare.

Hill.

1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister to dances and birth-night suppers.

[1942 Santamaria Dice. Americanismos, Bizbirinda (Castela texPlanta rutacea que crece en Tejas, donde tambien le dicen ana) Ruamargoso y chaparro amargoso [=Bizbirinda (Castela texana) Texas, where it is also called amargoso taceous plant which grows in and chaparro amargoso]]. 1960 Vines Trees 600, Castela texVernacular names are Bisbirinda, Amargosa, and Goat-bush. ana Allthorn, bisbirinda, 1970 Correll Plants TX 91 1, Castela texana chaparro amargoso The young branches with grayish-white inFlowers red to salmon-pink or orangetensely bitter bark color On gravelly hills and bluffs in thickets and in mesquite prairies. .

.

.

Science IV.62 (DA), Plants collected by Professor B. Douglass around the Great Lakes [include] Birth root: Black Rock, May Purple Trillium. 3d. 1857 Gray Manual of Botany 464, T. erect um Birthroot. Wake-robin, 1900 Lyons Plant Names 378, Trillium White Birthroot T. erectum Birthroot T. grandiflorum .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 42, Trillium ovatum. 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 44, Birthroot's good medicine. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 177, Trillium erectum Trillium, wake robin, birth-spot, etc. The Indians used one species to aid parturition, and an herbal medicine was made of it by Birth-root.

Birthroot

.

.

.

—

.

.

the Shakers.

birthscald n See also

=birthmark

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Biscayne-palm n Bis1933 Small Manual SE Flora 241, CfoccothrinaxJ argentea cayne-palm. 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 93, Coccothrinax argenOther common names Biscayne-palm. tata .

.

—

.

1

birthspot n 2.

beanery

[see

chiefly Sth,

S Midi, NEng

1].

(

DN

DN

Senses.

S Midi See Map Note:

it is impossievidence whether the geographical distribution of this response reflects a difference in the Informants' understanding of the terms bread and biscuit or simply a greater preference for biscuits in the Sth and S Midi. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H 5, Bread made with wheat flour) 107 Infs, Sth,

1

1939 FWP Guide TN 136, She maybe goes to town and sees a scary movie show. Then what? The baby's born with a birth-scald on his face.

pi: Biscuits,

1891 Garland Main-Travelled Roads 207 VVI, He has red hair, and is death on b'iled corn and hot biscuit. 1 902 1 904) Rowe Maid of Bar Harbor 50 ME, A moment later she was scolding Tabbv for her shiftlessness in allowing the biscuit to scorch. 1907 3.220* nwAR, sIL. 1908 3.291 eAL, wGA. 1941 LANE Map 282 throughout NEng, Biscuit is felt either as a mass noun or as an uninflected plural. 1942 Faulkner Go Down 1 13 MS, Molly stood at the stove drawing the biscuit out. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Boy you should taste the biscuit I cook. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. H 1 5, Bread made with wheat flour) 3 1 Infs, Sth, S Midi, Biscuit. 1968 Z)/4#£FWAddit LAI 1, We had no money to buy flour, so we had no biscuit.

1888

B

mark v 3

1.

See birthmark

.

SW

.

Form. Used as a mass noun or

Jrnl.

.

.

.

.

A

[See quot 1974]

=trillium.

.

.

.

.

biscuit n

.

birthroot n Also birthspot

1822

bizbirinda]

.

someone's birthday. Mary 157 SC, The Quarter people

social gathering to celebrate

.

[MexSpan

=silver palm.

supper n

birthnight

came

bisbirinda n

.

1966-70 DARE (Qu. X34, The navel) Infs M039, SC32, Birthmark; PA237, Birth hole; AL26, Birthspot.

1

1.520, Birtle ...

bisagre See bisnaga

.

2 also birth hole, birthspot: See quot.

.

— Chapel

=goatbush.

birthing.

A

NC Folkl.

bit."

.

.

1

wee

lad, a

biscuit

/

See quot.

chiefly Sth,

ble to determine

from

this

1

2 See birthroot.

S Midi,

n [Alter of birthday suit] Nakedness. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. W20) Infs DC 13, FL17, TN53, TX64,

Biscuit(s).

birth suit

(In his)

birth suit.

birthwort n 1

1551 —] For other Dutchman's pipe 1, pelican flower, pipesnagrel, snakeweed, swan flower, Virginia snakeroot, wild

A plant of the genus Aristolochia. [OED

names of var spp vine,

see

ginger

1785 Marshall Arbustrum 12 swPA, Aristolochia frutescens. Pennsylvanian Shrubby Birthwort. This grows naturally near Pittsburg. 1797 Morse Amer. Gaz., Pennsylvania The shrubby bithwort [sic] grows near Fort Pitt in the shade, in a rich soil; grows about 30 feet high, and sends off many twining branches. The roots have a lively aromatic taste, and are thought to have equal medicinal virtue to the small Virginia snake-root. 1847 Wood Class-Book 465, Birthworts ... are successfully employed in medicine. 1950 Gray-Fernald Manual of Botany 564, Aristolochia L. Birthwort. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. .

.

Plants wort,

A

.

64, .

.

.

.

Aristolochia

serpentaria

.

.

Common Names:

.

.

.

birth-

thick birthwort.

[See quot 1971] 1900 Lyons Plant Names 378, T. erectum Birthwort. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 48, Purple Trillium Other common names Birthwort. 1964 Batson Wild Flowers SC 33, Birthwort, Wake Robin: Trillium catesbaei. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 256, Trillium erectum birthwort The plant has been used as an uterine astringent.

2

trillium, esp Trillium erectum.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2

A

watch, joe

1905

DN

Common

3.70

nwAR,

slang.

1908

Biscuit ...

DN 3.291

A

watch.

eAL, wGA.

'Mv

biscuit

1915

is

too slow.'

DN 4.224 wTX.

3 See quots. West 1940 FWP Guide NV 75, Biscuit Nevada cowboy's term for the horn of the saddle. 1968 Adams Western Words, Biscuit The saddle .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

(Qu. H15)

•biscuit B1

.

birtle v

To behave

boisterously.

.

.

.

.

.

horn.

4 One's head. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 121.56, Head biscuit. 1969 Gordone No Place 39 NYC [Black], Way we was raised, husslin' an' usin' yo' biscuit to pull quickies was the only way we could feel like we .

was men.

.

-

beggar

biscuit

biscuits

/

5 =biscuit-eater

2.

246

Nth

chiefly

See

Map euphem Cf

sea

biscuit

WELS (Substitutes for stronger exclamations: "Why the son of a ") 6 Infs, WI, Biscuit. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. NN24, Humor-

1950

ous substitutes for stronger exclamations: 23 Infs, Biscuit.

"Why the son

ofa

!")

•biscuit- eater 2

biscuit

hooks n

pi

NN24)

(Qu.

Cf bread hooks

joe

One's hands.

—

1932 AmSp 7.329 [Johns Hopkins jargon], Biscuit hooks hands. 1966 DARE (Qu. X32, Hands "Those are mine. You keep your font of them]. ") Inf WA33, Biscuit hooks. .

biscuit

6

A woman's

cl960 Wilson

1968

hairdo: see quots.

csKY, Biscuit

Hair done up in a small knot; a bun. Usually said of some elderly woman who has very little hair or style. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. X3, When a woman puts her hair up on her head in a bunch, you call this a ) Infs CA2, C07, IL96, KY28, 74, PA 30, Biscuit; (Qu. X2, When a woman divides her hair into three strands and twists them together) Inf M09, They used to call it wearin' biscuits. 1981 Broaddus Coll. ceKY, Biscuit a small bun or roll of hair. When a woman wears two or more buns, they are called "biscuits." Coll.

.

.

—

—

The

biscuit

1966 Inf

A

sit

.

on) Inf

.

.

People offoreign background

.

.

Indian)

bread n

chiefly

DN 4.408

from bread n

wNC, Bread

.

.

.

1

Corn

or light bread).

.

bread. Biscuit are

[sic]

called

.

bush n Cf flitter

tree

imaginary object used in teasing a naive person.

HH

1967 DARE (Qu. 14, Ways of teasing a beginner or inexperienced person for example, by sending him for a "left-handed monkey wrench") Inf WA28, Biscuit bush.

—

doughnut n

DARE

.

biscuit-eater n

[Euphem

.

Types of doughnuts) Inf SC70, Biscuit for bitch]

See quots. Biscuit eater. 1970 Tarpley Blinky 168 neTX, A worthless dog 1971 Wood Vocab. Change 369 n62 Sth, [A dog of mixed and uncertain 1

.

.

.

.

.

.

Biscuit eater.

2 in phr son of a biscuit-eater: See quots.

chiefly Sth,

S Midi

See Map Cf biscuit 5 1950 WELS (Substitutes for stronger exclamations: "Why the son of a ") 1965-70 DARE (Qu. NN24, Inf, ceWI, Biscuit eater. 1

Humorous

.

substitutes for stronger exclamations:

42

Infs, chiefly

^biscuit getter n joe

breadwinner. 966 DARE (Qu.

Sth,

S Midi,

"Why

the son of a

Cf meal

Biscuit-eater.

ticket 1

A A23, Joking names a husband) Inf NM9, Biscuit getter. 1

.

.

pudding n

See quot 1954.

He

butted a feather pillow

.

until

.

it

and appeared from nowhere in a dish of biscuit pudding. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Biscuit pudding ... A dessert made from left-over biscuits, milk, and sugar. .

.

n

roll

DARE

(Qu. H32,

NV7,

.

Biscuit rolls

.

Fancy

—

rolls

woman may use to refer to her

and

pastries) Inf

MS79,

fixed in the shape of a biscuit.

biscuit roller See biscuit shooter

1

biscuit root n 1 A plant, or the edible root of a plant, of the chiefly western genus Lomatium. Also called carrotleaf, cous, desert parsley, hog fennel, prairie fennel, whisk broom parsley, wild carrot, wild parsley. For other names of var spp see bladder parsnip, chuchupate, Indian balsam, Indian biscuit, lace parsnip, pepper and salt, pestle parsnip, sheep parsnip, wild parsnip 1837 Irving Rocky Mts. 2.99, The cowish, also, or biscuit root, about the

of a walnut; they reduce to a very palatable flour. 1847 (1978) OR Missions 1 16, The bitter root grows in light, dry, sandy soil, as also the caious or biscuit root. 1889 [see 2 below]. 1947 De Voto Wide Missouri 432, Some of these were very important sources of food, notably the camas the biscuitroot and many species of lilies. 1966 DARE Wildfl QR Inf C07, Biscuit-root: Indians dug them, powdered root, made cakes; OR 12, Biscuit root: kouse ['kaus] (also Indian 1973 Hitchcock food; mentioned as kouse by Meriwether Lewis). Cronquist Flora Pacific 327, Lomatium Raf. Biscuit-root. size

.

.

Smet

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

NW

2

A camas

1, its root,

or a similar plant or root.

A name given to several kinds of wild esculent roots which are extensively used for food by the Indians of 1889 Century

the

Diet., Biscuit-root ...

Columbia river region,

especially to species

ofQuamasia and Loma-

tium.

Sth

biscuits n [See quot 1936 for possible origin]

=trumpetleaf. BisSoutheastern U.S. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 334, S. flava 1936 Whitehouse TX Flowers 39, Trumpet-Leaf (Sarracenia cuits. names are suggeswatches and biscuits. The sledgei) is also called tive of the broad, umbrella-shaped structure bearing the stigmas and occupying the center of the flower. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants .

!")

A

.for dogs) Infs

the plant are Biscuit-leaves.

.

(Qu. H28, doughnut or ball doughnut.

breed]

.

[laughter].

.

Biscuit rolls;

1

1970

1

greenbrier (here: Smilax rotundifolia).

1968-70

1

t-biscuit

eater

Uncomplimentary words

SW

S Midi

1935 Hurston Mules & Men 93 FL, Nearly every skillet is full of corn-bread. But some like biscuit-bread better. 1938 Stuart Dark Hills 329 KY, Here is a plate of cold biscuit bread. 1946 AmSp 2 .99 sIL. 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.520. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. H 5, Bread made with wheat flour) Infs GA70, IL1 19, KY5, 28, M08, NC44, NJ67, Biscuit bread; (Qu. HI 8, Special kinds of bread) Inf OK56, Biscuit bread.

An

hound

.

1938 Rawlings Yearling 216 FL,

biscuit bread.

biscuit

Biscuit

.

Biscuit beggar.

Biscuits (distinguished

1917

5,

(Qu. J2,

1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.104 MA, Smilax rotundifolia, biscuit-leaves. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.102 MA, Smilax rotundifolia biscuit-plant. 1960 Vines Trees Vernacular names for 75, Smilax rotundifolia

biscuit biscuit

DARE

burst, so that feathers drifted for days

beggar n derog DARE (Qu. HH28,

ID 1,

hound n Cf biscuit

.

biscuit-leaves n pi Also biscuit plant

biscuit

joe 1965-70 DARE (Qu. X35, The part of the body that you KS5, Biscuit; CA36, IL143, MA25, OH22, Biscuits. buttocks,

.

.

.

1

7

WV4,

.

.

12, Biscuits:

.

Sarracenia flava.

.

.

.

.

.

.

]

biscuit shooter

247

biscuit shooter n

A

cook

at a

camp

West Also

or ranch.

called cookee

1893 Harper's Mag. 88.57/2 West, His helpmeet in her night-gown and the biscuit-shooter each seized a broom. 1911 DN 3.550 WY, Biscuit 1941 FWP Guide shooter, cook, at camps, ranches, etc. 459, 1968 Adams Western Words, Biscuit Biscuit shooter ... Cook.

WY

roller

.

.

Biscuit shooter

.

-bit

or prune center. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. H29, A round cake, cooked deep fat, with jelly inside) 125 Infs, chiefly Upper MW, wGt Lakes, Bismarck; ND1, Chicago bismarck. 1971 AmSp 46.79 Chicago IL, 1973 Allen 1.282 ceMN, Jelly-filled doughnut: bismarck. Bismarck: Wilh'jeWy in the center. 1976Winsori csND,Doughnut Motives 96, She placed the tray of cups and a plate of sugared jelly doughnuts on the coffee table. "We still call them bismarcks, don't know why." I said, "I remember that's what they called them in Milwaukee."

jelly

also biscuit roller:

1

/

.

.

.

The ranch cook.

in

LAUM

.

.

.

.

.

2 A waiter or waitress. Also called cookie pusher 1913 DN4.2Nth, Biscuit shooter A waiter in a logging camp. 1919 DN5.63NM. 1921 Collier's 1 2 Nov 1 1/1, The former biscuit shooter's photo begin [sic] hitting the rotogravures and fan magazines regularly. 1927 AmSp 2.275 [Stanford University slang], Biscuit shooter waiter at a table. 1931 AmSp 7. 104 [Underworld argot], Biscuit shooter ... A waitress. 1950 WELS (Waiters or waitresses in restaurants) 2 Infs, WI, Biscuit shooter. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 338, Brazos Joe used to ride twenty miles to town ever' chance he got to spend his wages for pies and such throat-ticklin' truck all because there was a biscuit shooter workin' there that was easy on the eyes. .

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

bishop pine n Std: a California pine [Pinus muricata]. Also called bull pine la, obispo pine, pricklecone pine, swamp pine

bishop's cap n [From the shape of the seed pods] =miterwort 1.

•bismarck 2 + var

1839 Longfellow Voices of Night Prelude xi, When bishop's caps have golden rings. 1869 Fuller Uncle John 45, The flowers of the 'Bishop's Cap' are small and white, and grow usually upon wet rocks. 1900 Higginson Outdoor Studies 37, One may still find, usually close together, the Hobble-bush and the Painted Trillium, the Mitella, or Bishop's Cap, and the snowy Tiarella. 1 966 DARE Wildfl QR P1.90 Inf MI57, Bishop's cap; P1.90b Inf OHM, Bishop's cap. 1971 GA Dept. .

.

Ag. Farmers Market Bulletin 57.35.8, The leaves show great similarity to its near relatives, Foam-flower and Bishop's cap. .

.

bishop's nose n

=pope's nose. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K73, The rump of a cooked chicken) Infs AL24, AR4, DEI, MS66, NJ69, OR7, TX22, 69, 102, VA82, Bishop's .

.

nose.

weed n

bishop's

also called

Queen Anne's lace, or A. Names 28, Ammi

visnaga.

[OED

1614

—

Bishop's-weed. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 649, Ammi visnaga Toothpick Bishop's Weed Adventive on ballast ... Ammi majus ... Greater Bishop's Weed Introduced at Mobile, and here and there escaped from gardens. 1970 Correll Plants TX 1 150, Ammi L. Bishop's-weed.

1900 Lyons Plant

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 also bishop weed,

Ptilimnium. 1822 Eaton Botany

mock

bishop('s) weed:

A plant

of the genus

Bishop-weed Pursh says it grows in sandy fields. But at N. Haven and N. York it grows in salt-marshes. 1848 Gray Manual of Botany 162, Discopleura Mock Bishop-weed. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 1, Bishop's weed, American, Discopleura capillacea. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 648, Ptilimnium capillaceum Mock Bishop's Weed. 1968 Barkley Plants KS 262, Ptilimnium nuttallii Mock Bishop Weed. 1972 Brown Wildflowers LA 125, Mock Bishop's-weed, Ptilimnium costatum Wet sites in prairie, margins of swamps, and fresh marshes. 171,

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

[OED 1861 ] 1900 Lyons Plant Names 17, AfegopodiumJ podagraria Bishop's weed. 1967 DARE Tape NY30, Bishop's weed snow-on-the-moun3 =goutweed.

.

.

.

—

tain.

bislings See beaslings

bismarck n 1

An

chiefly

Upper

MW, wGt Lakes

oblong cake, cooked in deep

fat;

a long-john.

ADD St. Paul MN, If a solid oblong, called bismarck. 1965-70 DARE (Qu.mO) Infs IL17, 45, 50, INI, IA32, 41, 47, ME16, 1930s

in

1944

MA122, MI13,

46, 96, VT8, Bismarck. 1976 LaCrosse Tribune(W\) 8 The resulting fry bread is similar to bakery bismarcks, but less sweet and more airy.

Apr

1

bismaroon See bizmaroon bisnaga n Also bisagre, biznacha,

7/4,

2 A deep-fried cake with a filling, usu of jelly. See Map 1950 WELS Suppl. Inf, csWI, Bismarck round doughnut with 1

—

visnada,

visnaga,

dimin

[MexSpan biznaga]

bisnagita

Any of var spiny cacti of the genera Echinocactus or Ferocactus. [1845 Fremont Rept. Rocky Mts. 264, Fuentes pointed out one [cactus] by the Spaniards bisnada [sic], which has a juicy pulp, slightly acid, and is eaten by the traveller to allay thirst.] 1892 DA' 1.188 TX, Bisagre: a plant of the cactus family, sometimes sliced and candied in Mexican sugar (Echinocactus horizonthalonius). 1892 in 1 94 1 Torreya Bisagre, Texas. 1915 (1926) 41.50, Echinocactus horizonthalonius Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 306, Bisnaga Echinocactus Wislizeni. 1940 AZ Univ. Biol. Sci. Bulletin 4.108, Echinocactus Johnsonii ... Johnson bisnagita. Ibid 112, Echinocactus polyancistrus 1941 Jaeger Wildflowers Fishhook bisnagita. 168, Bisnaga Echinocactus acanthodes. 1969 O'Connor Horse & Buggy West 167 (as of early 1900s), Many a greenhorn who did not know the desert has died of thirst when he was surrounded by plump bisnagas filled with cool green water. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 83, EchinoVisnada, biznacha. 1976 cactus wislizeni or Ferocactus wislizeni Bailey - Bailey Hortus Third 41 1, Echinocactus Visnaga. Ibid 474. Ferocactus Visnaga. called

.

.

A plant of the genus^ mini: in the US either .4. majus, which is

1

(Qu. H29)

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

var combs, esp dog-bit, flea-bit, snake-bit (see quots, esp 1954, for other combs) chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map

-bit suff In

Bitten by (a dog, flea, snake, etc). 1904 DA' 2.418 nwAR, He said the lady told him she never knew the dogs to bite anyone; he said if that was true, he would hate to be dogbit. 1906 DA' 3. 1 36 nwAR, I sure got fleabit bad. 1940 Sat. Eve. Post 23 Nov 104/4 sGA, He was dying mighty easy for a man that had been cottonmouth bit "I bet I been cottonmouth bit a dozen times." 1944 Wellman Bowl 1 89 KS, He was snake-bit. The rattler had found him on .

.

.

A bit

and grain

/

248

bite

1949 PADS 1 1.6 wTX, Fleabit gray. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 6, An interesting geographical phenomenon is the compound dogbit ("he was dogbit," or "he got dogbit"), which covers the South Midland and adjoining parts of the South ... In W. Va. south of the Kanawha and in s.w. Va. it is practically universal; it reaches north to s.w. Pa. and southeast to the Atlantic in the Peede'e and Cape Fear valleys. It is fairly common in the inland portions of S.C. and e. Ga. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, -Bit Bitten. In combinations: squirrelbit, the right ankle.

.

.

snakebit, mulebit,

MN35, WA33,

Always bitching; KY84, NY93, PA69, 94, Bitcher;

(Chronic, professional) bitcher; (Qu. KK13, Arguing: "They stood ") Infs CA9, GA19. MA45, MO30, NY86. therefor an hour .

.

PA236. Bitching.

.

bugbit, chiggerbit, mosquito-bit, dogbit.

hogbit,

cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Dog bit. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 0012a, ") 47 Infs. chiefly Sth, S Midi, "Last week the mailman was Dog-bit; NM11, SCI, 23, Snake-bit; (Qu. J2) Inf IL78, Flea-bit: (Qu. K38) Inf TNI 4, Flea-bit; (Qu. P9) Inf FL4, Been snakebit; (Qu. CC12b) Infs GA82, LA46, PA 1 85, 209, TX37, 73, Snake-bit. 1968 DARE Tape VA25, 1 got snakebit on my finger once. .

.

bit

and grain See every

and grain

bit

bitawby n [Alter of catawba] =catalpa Bl.

DARE (Qu.

1967

T9) Inf LA7,

[bi'tobi].

bitch n

An

also attrib:

1

wick

improvised lamp consisting of a twisted rag of grease. [Cf OED slut sb. 4 ] See also

in a container

grease lamp 1904 (1969) Robins Magnetic North 155 AK, Til light a piece of fat pine,' shouted the Boy 'Where's your bitch?' said Dillon. 1927 944) Russell Trails Plowed Under 1 59 West, In the long winter nights ( their light was coal oil lamps or candles sometimes they were forced to use a 'bitch,' which was a tin cup with bacon grease and a twisted rag wick. 1942 Whipple Joshua 33 LT (as of c 860), Hit be too hot here in .

.

.

bitch bath n

See quots. 1953 AmSp 28.145, Then there are the

1

—

water:

.

.

AmSp

1965

fume.

baths without

so-called

a bitch bath requires talcum powder, deodorant, and per-

40.264, Bitch-bath.

One

that a soldier takes in his

helmet.

1

the

summers

fer

candlemakin'; agin

I

a

git

new batch done, we gits along

with a "bitch." 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 285 Ozarks, Slut ... A primitive lamp, made by attaching a rag wick to a pebble and setting it in a vessel of grease ... An old man told me that such a lamp was properly

nowadays thought slut was more refined! cl957 Hand Coll. UT, A midwife of Moab, Utah said that all she needed to ease the pains of delivery was a "bitch-light." 1968 DAREFW Addit NY72, Bitch take a button, put a wick through it and set it in a dish of melted tallow; an emergency lamp. called a bitch, but that folks

—

2 See quot.

1944

Adams

wagon from

Cf caboose n

4,

Western Words, Bitch ...

An argument

1967 DARE (Qu. Y Qu. Y 1 2b, A realfight

or

A

cowhide stretched under a

2a,

—

AR, TX, Bitch fight a fight between two people, mostly with words. 4 Something regarded as outstanding of its kind, esp in unpleasantness. ?chiefly Nth, N Midi 1964 AmSp 39. 1 90 [College

slang], Bitch

'something

or formi-

difficult

DARE (Qu. B25, A very heavy rain: "It's a ")InfsPA94, 170. Bitch; (Qu.KK4l, Something that is very difficult to do: "I managed to get through with it, but it was ") Infs IL98, NY 1 1 9, PA76, 94, TX72, WA28, 33, Bitch. 1966 DARE Tape MI26, Bitch of a day. dable.'

1965-70

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

wool n Also

bitch's

N Midi, West See Map esp among young and mid-aged speakers and among males Cf bitch n 3

bitch v chiefly Nth,

who complains

or gripe; hence bitcher one

DARE

bitch

or

grouses.

wool.

bitchwood n

A

spindle tree (here:

1963

AmSp

Euonymus

38.38, Bitchwood

BigColl. cePA [Fraternity newsletter], Biggest Eater 1941 Schulberg WhalMakes 1 27 sCA, What the hell have you got to bitch about? cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Bitcher ... A cornplainer, a belly-acher. Not too common in use. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. GG16, Words for finding fault, or complaining: "You just can't please ") 91 Infs, chiefly Nth, N Midi, West, him he's always Bitching; NY 10, Bitcher [Of all Infs responding to Qu. GG16, 1 1% were young, 25% mid-aged, 46% male; of those giving these responses, 23% were young, 41% mid-aged, 65% male.]; (Qu. GG35a, To sulk or pout: "It won't do any good to about it. ") 8 Infs, Bitch; (Qu. GG35b, "She's been Of a person who acts annoyed or disappointed all day.") 10 Infs, Bitching; (Qu. GG39, Somebody who seems to be looking for reasons to be angry) Infs PA219, 227, SC40, (Habitual, perpetual, or professional) bitcher; (Qu. 12, A person who is always finding fault about unimportant things) Inf CA83, Bitching; NY9,

1937 Hench

.

—

.

HH

.

.

.

.

europaeus).

The

spindle tree,

Euonymus

euro-

paeus.

bite v

A

Forms.

Past pple: usu bitten; esp among males often bit; also bite; rarely bited.

.

.

and lesser educ speakers,

1704 (1935) Knight Jrl. 63 NEng, They were once Bitt by a 1834 [see Bl below]. 1863 in 1 965 DARE File cNY, I was bit by a musquetoe [sic] to day. 1898 Westcott Harum 105 nNY, He'll find he's bit off a dum sight more'n he c'n chaw. 1953 Atwood Survey of Verb Forms 6, The past participle is recorded in the context "He was (bitten) by a dog." The form bitten is strongly favored by cultured informants everywhere Bit is used by a slight majority of Type I informants [=old, with little educ] in N.Eng., and by from one fourth to Elsewhere in the Eastern one third of the other noncultured types States bit predominates very heavily in Type I [=infs with little educ], and a little less heavily in Type II [=infs with moderate educ]. Most "got bite." Southern Negroes use this form, though two use bite 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 0012a, Talking about dogs biting: "Some dogs ") 262 Infs, widespread, will bite last week the mailman was Bit [Of all Infs responding to the question, 28% had grade school educ, 50% were male; of those giving this response, 37% had grade school educ, 60% were male]. 1966 DARE Tape FL19, He was bit. 1971 Bright Word Geog. CA & NV 168, [In the context "He was bitten by a dog,"] bit [was said by] 33%. bitten [was said by] 67% [of 300 informants] .

.

.

sharper.

.

.

gest Bitcher.

wool Cf slut's wool

(Qu. E20, Soft

.

regular

To complain

1967 Cerello Dakota Co. M/V'44, Bitchering about town was all he ever thought about She was always bitchering after the married men of our town His wife lifted her skirts and bitchered about like a highAll young men do a certain bitchering about before stepping woman they settle down.

rolls of dust that collect on the floor under beds or other furniture) Inf NY220, Bitch's wool; NC48, Bitch

Cf bitch v

fight.

To pursue members of the opposite sex, spec for sexual pleasure.

1967-69

wood.

A fight between two people, mostly with words; in which blows are struck) Inf WA22, A bitch; (Qu. A disagreement or quarrel) Inf OR1, Bitch. 1970 DARE File 1

+

bitcher n See bitch v

cuna 2

axle to axle for carrying

3 also attrib:

KK1 5,

1

bitcher v With about or after [bitch to act like, or seek out, a female (dog) -er frequentative (OED suffix5)]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

:

—

.

B 1

.

Senses.

usu in constr get bit: To be cheated, chiefly Sth, S Midi squad1834 Life Andrew Jackson 101, The gineral, who was never .

.

249

died in a

bite

wasn't backward, when his country or bited in a bargin. 1.229 KY, MI, NEng, Bit. "To get bit": to be 1892

fite,

.

.

DN

needed him.

cheated in making a purchase. 1893 Shands A/5 Speech 70, Bit. To get 1903 D.Y2.306 seMO, bit is used in Mississippi to mean to be cheated. Cheated. 'If vou trade with him vou are likely to get bit.' 1906 Bit 1907 3.229 nwAR, seMO, 3.115 sIN, Bit ... Cheated. Cheated. 1908 DA' 3.29 1 eAL, wGA, Bite ... To cheat. Chiefly Bit .

.

.

.

.

.

DN

DN

and p[ast] p[articiple]. "He got bit in that trade." 1965-70 DARE(Qu. LL23, Cheated, treated dishonestly: "Theseapples ") 18 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, Bit. are wormy, I think you got in the pret[erite].

Of frost:

2

bite

Cf biting

vegetation.

B29) Inf KY83, Sometimes a

bitterbrush

bitter adj

Of milk: Tainted: see quot.

1

scattered, but chiefly Sth,

Map Cf bitterweed milk 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K14, cow

Milk

S Midi

See

that has a taste from

something the ") 73 Infs, "That milk is Bitter milk; CA79, Bitter from eating weeds; SC26, Bitter

ate in the pasture

Bitter: 9 Infs. with weeds.

— you

say,

frost

won't

light frost

bite.

n See bight punkin See eat a pumpkin through a knothole, be able

bite a bite

damage

to

DARE (Qu.

1970

/

to

one's bait v phr

DARE FW

1970

Mil

Addit

16, Bite

your bait— to hold off on a

decision to see what develops, not to push a point too

fast.

biter n 1

The claw of a crab. Chesapeake Bay 1952 Sun (Baltimore MD) 23 June ed B 14/6

cMD, Language peculiar

only to soft-crabbing With the right thumb push downward and in on the top "biter" of the crab until the hard shell cracks away. 1968-70 DARETape MD1 8, Biters; VA47, Break one half of each biter off so they [=crabs] can't bite one another and kill one another. 1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 6 Chesapeake Bay, The crew members will tell you to take a close look at the color of the females' claws. "Look at them .

.

.

1

biters,"

2

one

A tooth,

MD15,

1970 Tarpley Blinky 192 neTX, Milk that

joe

beginning to sour

is

.

.

bitter

milk.

DARE

1965-70

NY 144,

2 =blinky adj la.

will say.

Large front teeth that stick out) Inf (Qu. XI 2, (Qu. XI 3a, .Joking names .for teeth) Infs IL50, 41, MN33, 37, MT4, NE3, NJ67, OH44, PA76, 243, Biters. .

Biters;

.

.

n [From bitters a tonic

bitter

made

of crushed or distilled herbs

.

or plant matter]

A

tbites n Pliers.

medicinal

tea.

1956 Hall Coll. w.NC, eTN, Asked if she prepared teas of the different replied. "I fix a Mollie herbs and used them for different illnesses. bitter of it all and use it for everything." .

1970 DARE (Qu. F33, A small "jaws" for gripping things) Inf

tool that

you hold

in

one hand, with

MA 124, Bites.

.

.

.

apple n =mayapple.

bitter

bite-tongue n Also biting tongue

[From the

acrid juice]

=water pepper. .

.

Names:

.

.

[From the peppery

taste

S4) Inf

MS60.

Bitter apple.

.

.

biting tongue.

bitey root n

DARE (Qu.

1965

1900 Lyons Plant Names 300, PfolygonumJ Hydropiper Bitetongue. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 162CT. 1971 KiochmalAppalachia Med. Plants 204, Polygonum Hydropiper Common

of the cooked root]

ash n

bitter

A wahoo

(here: Euonymus atropurpureus). 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 11. Bitter ash. Wahoo, Euonymus atropurBitter pureus. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 155, E. atropurpureus Other common Ash. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 59, Wahoo 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. names Bitter ash. pegwood. The bark is reported to be of value as a drastic Plants 116. Bitter ash

=jack-in-the-pulpit

1.

.

1969

DARE (Qu.

SI) Inf VT17, Bitey root.

.

Of an

animal: likely to

.

.

bitterbark n

bite.

1921(1923) Greer- Petrie Angeline Seelbach 2 KY, He was afeard Miss Seelback might have some bad bitin' dogs that would resh out and grab aholt of us. 1941 Stuart Men ofMts. 230 neKY, "Don't be afraid, boys." says Big Aaron. "He ain't no bitin' dog. He's one of them barkin' dogs that never bites." 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Biting dog ... A dog likely to bite. '"At's nold bitin' dog. Better leave'm 'lone." 1966 Wilson Coll. csKY, Biting sow Dangerously angry sow. "There's a biting sow in that 'ere field." Often used in phr "mad as a biting sow." .

.

1

also bitterbark tree: =fever tree; also the bark of such a tree.

Vulgar. 1828R.afinesque.Vta/. Flora 51, Pinckneyapubens. Names Bitter Bark, Fever-tree. 1884 Miller Diet. Engl. Names of Plants 231/1, Pinckneya pubens. Bitter-bark-tree, Fever-tree of Georgia. 1892 (1974) Millspaugh Amer. Med. Plants 299, The important medicinal bitterbark plants of this family are: The cinchonas or Peruvian barks. .

severe frost.

1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Biting-frost ... A heavy frost that kills youngplants: "We had a biting-frost last night." 1965-70 DARE(Qu. B29, A frost that does not kill plants) Infs Mil, SCI, Biting frost; (Qu. B30, A frost that kills plants) Infs IN29, KY76, TX2, VA87, Biting frost. 1981 Broaddus Coll. ceKY, Biting frost a killing frost.

—

knotweed n [From the acrid juice and jointed stems] =water pepper. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 11, Biting knot weed Polygonum hydropiper. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 300, PfolygonumJ Hydropiper Bit-

biting

.

.

.

ing

Knotweed.

1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 204, Polybiting knotweed.

gonum Hydropiper ^bit-player n

1968

.

.

.

euphem Cf biscuit-eater

2

DARE (Qu. NN24, Substitutes for stronger exclamations: "Why

the son of a

1")

Inf

PA74,

Bit-player.

.

.

.

.

.

.

(Pinckneya pubens, Mich). and others of minor import. 1900 Lyons Bitterbark; tonic, febrifuge. 1911 Plant Names 290. Fever-tree. Bark Century Diet., Georgia, bitter. Carolina or Florida bark, the bark of Pinckneya pubens. a small rubiaceous tree of the southern United States, having the same properties as French Guiana bark. .

.

.

biting frost n

A

.

.

purgative.

S Midi

.

.

.

.

biting ppl adj

.

.

.

2 =cascara

.

1.

1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 62, In Oregon it [Rhamnus purshiana] is known as "chittemwood" and "bitter bark." and also as "wahoo" and of the "bear-wood." 1914 in 1950 Western Folkl. 9.344, Bitterbark American pioneers, or cascara sagrada of the Spanish Californians. .

.

bitterberry n

I960 Williams Walk Egypt 95. Half a dozen children played Squat One squatted and bit her nails. Another yelled. "You better quit that. Your ma'll sop 'em in bitter-berry."

Tag

.

.

.

bitterbrush n 1 Either of two western browse plants (Purshia tridentata or P. glandulosd), both of which are much-branched shrubs with tridentate leaves, yellow flowers, and spindle-shaped achenes.

— bitterbush

pecan

bitter

/

Also called antelope brush greasewood, quinine bush

250

1,

black sage, buckbrush, deer brush,

1925 Jepson Manual Plants CA 504, PfurshiaJ tridentata Also called Bitter-Brush. 1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101.53, Despite the .

.

characteristic taste of

"bitterbrush,"

.

.

.

common name

herbage, alluded to in the Purshia is one of the most important its

.

.

browse plants

occurring on western ranges. 1951 Martin Amer. Wildlife & Plants 327, There are two species of bitterbrush in the world both of them confined to arid slopes and valleys of the Mountain - Desert region. 1966 DARE Wildfl. Inf 12, Bitterbrush— also buck brush 'cause bucks eat it. 1969-70 DARE (Qu. T5) Infs CA136, 208. Bitterbrush.

—

QR

2

A

OR

Cowania mexicana).

cliffrose (here:

1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 132, Chelone glabra 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 84, Bitter herb leaves have' been used as an anthelmintic and tonic.

1873

1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101 .49, Cliffrose bitterbrush. variety of local names, including .

.

known

is

.

also

by a

.

=bear oak. buttons n [From the bitter-tasting flower heads]

Tanacetum

vulgare).

1900 Lyons Plant Names 364,

vulgare

T.

.

.

1955

Bitter-buttons.

.

Moosehead Gazette (Dexter ME) Feb 7/4 (Hench Coll.), Tansy is better known as Bitter Buttons. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 246, Bitter buttons. Tanacetum vulgare 1

.

.

bitter

A

.

coco n Cf coco

nut grass

grass, sweet coco grass

Cyperus rotundus).

(here:

1

1941 Torreya 41.46, Cyperus rotundus

.

.

.

Bitter coco, Catahoula,

L[ouisian]a.

dock n Usu the broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius), but also curled

bitter

dock. Grass-lots, gar1837 Darlington Flora Cestrica 236, Bitter Dock dens, and meadows: frequent. 1848 Gray Manual of Botany 391. 1892 (1974) Millspaugh Amer. Med. Plants 144/1, The Bitter Dock ... is much harder to exterminate than R. crispus. 1937 Stemen OK Flora 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. 109, Broad-leaved or Bitter Dock. .

Plants 218,

Rumex

crispus

.

.

.

Common Names:

.

.

.

bitter dock.

.

.

.

poisonous.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

n

Ibid

—

.

melon n The balsam pear (Momordica 1948 (1965) Neal Gardens HI

1950

WELS .

.

1

3, Bitter

plant: Aletris farinosa.

[Alter of better half one's spouse]

(Wife)

1

cwWI,

Inf,

AA23,

.

.

2 feet long.

1

.

—

.

Bitter half.

Husband)

Infs

1966-68 DARE (Qu. C042, IL11, NY109,

The black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus).

1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 69, The names "Bitter Head" and "Lampit. 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes bitterhead, and lamplighter are names which have 336, Grass bass, been applied to this fish. lighter" are also ascribed to

.

2 =golden shiner.

1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 445, Known by a wide variety of popular names, such as Bitterhead, and Windfish, the Golden Shiner can be successfully reared. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 1 58, Bitterhead, Chub, Gudgeon, Windfish. Names: Golden Shiner .

.

A

.

.

.

.

.

herb n Cf bitterweed turtlehead (here: Chelone glabra).

bitter

.

.

.

.

— —

.

.

—

—

bittern n

marsh bird (Botaurus lentiginosus). Also called barrelmaker, belcher-squelcher, biorque, bog bull, bog crane, bog hen, bog-pumper, bogtrotter, boomer, boompike, bottle-kachunk, bum cluck, butterbump, buttermunk, conk-onk, dunkadoo, flyStd: a

ing fox, fly-up-the-creek, fool fowl, garde-soleil, grass hen, green-legged crane, Indian hen, Indian pullet, jack grindle, Johnny Gongle, jumper, look-up, marsh hen, meadow hen, mire drum, night hen, plum puddin', plunket, poke, postdriver, pumper, quock, shagpoke, shitepoke, sibitron, skygazer, slough-pumper, slough pup, slugtoot, snake eater, stake-driver, stargazer, stump-driver, sungazer, thunder pumper, vision-la,

wop

wollerkertoot, bitternut n

A

also bitternut hickory:

1

compound

has

hickory (Carya cordiformis) which

7-11

leaves with

and

leaflets

thin-shelled,

Also called bitter

bittertasting kernel.

hickory, bitter pecan, bitter walnut, pig hickory, pignut, pig

swamp hickory, white hickory, yellowbud hickory seul nom 1810 Michaux Arbres 1.19 (DA), Bitter nut hickery [sic] en usage dans N.Y. [=only name in use in N.Y.]. 1814 Pursh Flora This is known by the name of amara Americae 2.638, Juglans Bitter Nut, White or Swamp Hickory. 1947 Amer. Midland Naturalist [is] occasional in bottomland forest and wood mar38.39. Bitternut 1967-70 DARE (Qu. 143) Infs IL35, LA11, PA234, WHO, gins. Bitternut(s); MI64, Bitternut hickory; (Qu. T16) Infs MN29, WI22, walnut, red hickory,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

Bitternut.

2 =pignut (here:

Carya

glabra).

Common 1 15, Hicoria glabra Iowa, Wis.). 1908 Britton N. Amer.

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora

Names

.

.

.

Bitternut (Ark.,

111.,

.

.

.

Trees 237, Pignut Hickory ... is also called Pignut, Bitternut 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 254.

bitter

[etc.].

2 1

.

1

oak n

=wahoo

1

are

.

.

in the size

(here:

1960 Vines Trees

.

.

joe

bitterhead n

.

charantia).

Ibid 809, A smaller form differs from the bitter of the vine and in the fruit. 1967 DARE (Qu. Kinds of squash) Inf HI3, Bitter melon 123, from China; a squash; (Qu. 125, Nicknames for cucumbers) Inf Hill, Bumpy similar shape and size to cucumber "bitter melon" cook very bitter more like squash.

WA 17, Bitter half. 1

.

808, Bitter melon Common in Oriental vegetable gardens of Hawaii is an annual, high-climbing vine, 8

bitternut hickory See bitternut

Wife; Qu.

.

.

.

A spouse. AA22,

.

.

.

.

2, Bitter grass: Aletris farinosa.

bitter half

.

.

The

bitter

.

=colicroot 2 (here: Aletris farinosa). Vulgar Names 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 37 Aletris farinosa Star-Grass, .. Bitter Grass, .. Devil's-bit. 1892 (1974) Millspaugh Amer. Med. Plants 1 72, Bitter Grass The fresh root is chopped and pounded to a pulp The resulting tincture has a very bitter taste. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 3 1 8, A. farinosa ... is often called agueroot, huskrool, and bittergrass. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 1

.

.

bitter plant

',

.

.

beaked nuts enclosing a

dogbane n Also bitter dogsbane =spreading dogbane. Bit1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 49, Apocynum androsemifolium ter Dogsbane. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 40. 1963 /ImSp 38.34. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 50, Bitter dogbane ... is extremely grass n Also

.

.

bitter

bitter

Bitter

.

.

=bitternut 1. 1813 Muhlenberg Catalogus Plantarum 88 PA, Juglans sulcata, amara[:] bitter hickory, white. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 111, Hicoria minima Common Names Bitter Hickory (N.H.). 1967 DARE (Qu. T16) InfMI71, Bitter hickory.

.

1900 Lyons Plant Names 314, QJuercus] nana [Q. pumila], Bitter-bush.

.

n

bitter hickory

melon

A tansy (here:

.

.

to

bitterbush n

bitter

in

Herb.

.

Bitter-oak,

Euonymus

SW 661,

atropurpureus).

Wahoo

Eastern

.

.

.

Vernacular names

and Strawberry-tree.

=bear oak. 900 Lyons Plant Names 314, Qfuercus] nana [=Q. pumila]

bitter

Bitter

Oak.

pecan n Gulf States

Usu

the water hickory, but also other hickories such as the Carya cordiformis) or the pecan. 1884 Sargent Forests ofN. Amer. 1 36, Water Hickory. Swamp Hickory. Bitter Pecan. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 110, Juglans cordiBitter Pecan Tree (La.). Ibid 1 2, HiCommon Names formis Bitter Pecan (Miss., La., Tex.). Common Names coria aquatica 1922 Sargent Manual Trees 179, Carya texana SchnfeckeJ. Bitter Pecan. 1967 - 68 DARE(Qu. 143) Infs LA2, 15, 28, Bitter pecan(s); (Qu. T15) Inf LA2, Bitter pecan; (Qu. T16) Inf LA 10, Bitter pecan. bitternut (here:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

251

1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 32, Acorus calamus pepper root.

.

.

Bitter

.

QR

A

n

blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus).

1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 118, Thistle, Bitter, Blessed thistle, Centaurea 1900 Lyons Plant Names 108. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia has been used to treat worms. Med. Plants 98, Bitter thistle

n

benedicta.

=spreading dogbane.

1

.

Vul1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 49, Apocynum androsemifolium Bitter-root Root perennial, large, bitter and milky like gar Names the whole plant. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 12, Bitter root, Apocynum androsaemifolium. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Names 89, Spreading Dogbane ... Bitter-root. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific .

.

.

.

.

bitter

.

walnut n

.

MT

,

Macdonald Egg & 1 20, The bitterroot daisies, the Montana State flower, had little foliage and no stems and lay flat and pink and exquisite on the brown hard earth. 1966 ZX4#£WildflQRInfWA10, Bitterroot. 1976 Bailey -Bailey Hortus Third 654, Bitter root The thick root shaped like a forked radish or short carrot was a much-used food plant by Indian .

.

A

bitternut.

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 111, Hicoria minima Common Bitter Walnut (Vt.). Names 1950 Peattie Nat. Hist. Trees 146, Bitternut Hickory Bitter Walnut. 1967 DARE (Qu. 143) Inf NY2, .

.

.

.

tribes.

1.

.

.

bitter

water hickory n

Either of two hickories: nutmeg hickory or water hickory. 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Treesll.Caryaaquatica Other common names bitter pecan, bitter water hickory. Ibid 74, Carya myristiOther common names swamp hickory, bitter water hickciformis .

— .

.

.

Vul33, Names. American Buckbean Marsh Trefoil, Bitter Root. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants Menyanthes trifoliata Bitter root ... At times in the past the .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

bitter

waternut n Cf water bitternut

=nutmeg

hickory.

Sudworth

1897 mis

Arborescent

Common Names

Flora

1.

1889 Century Diet., Bitter-root The big-root, Megarrhiza Califor1900 Lyons Plant Names 248, M. fabacea and M. Marah both of California, are called Bitter-root. .

.

.

nica.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

bitterroot daisy See bitterroot 2

bitterstem n

Prob =bitterweed. 1966 DARE Tape NC10, bitter milk: bitterstem is

A weed, if eaten by cows in the spring, causes

what we

bittersweet n chiefly Nth,

Any of three plants: 568

mony

12,

1

—

),

which

Hicoria

myristicsefor-

1933 Small Manual SE Flora 405, Bitter-Waternut ... Woods, hillsides, and low grounds. 1950 Moore Trees AR 30, Local Names: Bitter Water Nut, Blasted Pecan Nut egg-shaped, pointed at ends, not flattened; kernel sweet. 1960 Vines Trees 135. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Bitter

Waternut

(La.).

.

SW

TX

See

Map

of var plants containing a bitter principle. 1819 Thomas Travels W. Country 222 (DA), Ambrosia artimisifolia hog or bitter weed. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 221, LfeptilonJ CanaBitter-weed. 1908 DN dense Canada Fleabane, Horseweed, so called because 3.291 eAL, wGA, Bitter-weed Dog fennel when eaten by cows it makes the milk bitter. 1940 Clute Amer. Plant Bitter-weed. 1944 Clarke Names 29, CfheloneJ glabra. Turtle-head Co. Democrat (Grove Hill AL) 1 8 May 3/5 (DA), Bitterweed, a serious pasture pest which causes unpalatable milk, can be controlled by proper management of the pasture. 1960 Williams Walk Egypt 5 GA, They were lost among the brighter fall flowers, maypop and yarrow, bitterweed and goldenrod. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. S21) 90 Infs, scattered, but chiefly Sth, TX, Bitterweed(s); (Qu. S7) Inf MS82, Bitterweed; (Qu. S 1 7) InfTX68, Bitterweed; (Qu. S20) Inf AL6, Bitterweed— yellow top; (Qu. S26a)InfsGA2, 5, Bitterweed; (Qu. K14)InfsFLl, 17, 34, GA68, LA23, MS74, (Ate, been eating, eating, or tainted with) bitterweed(s). .

.

.

.

1

.

ory.

.

have been used for flavoring beer.

4 =bigroot

.

.

Any

1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora

bitter roots

.

Bitter walnuts.

bitterweed n scattered, but chiefly Sth,

3 =buckbean

.

.

.

2 also bitterroot daisy: A plant with thick, starchy roots of the western genus Lewisia, esp L. rediviva which is also called mountain rose, redhead Louise, resurrection flower, rock rose, sand rose, tobaccoroot. 1838 Parker Jrl. Rocky Mts. 204, To these may be added the racine amere, or bitter root, which grows on dry ground, fusiform, and though not pleasant to the taste, yet it is very conducive to health. 1 885 Century Illustr. Mag. 29.447 MT, It was too late to find the exquisite camellialike flower of the bitter-root, which in May stars the ground. 1939 FWP Guide 1 6, The State flower is the bitterroot. 1941 FWP Guide WA 2 1 The low rose-red bitterroot, often called the rockrose. 1945 ( 1 946)

144,

.

.

.

AW 362, Spreading d[ogbane], flytrap d[ogbane], bitter-root.

gar.

wintergreen

lives anywhere; OH41, Bittersweet sweet a viny thing with berries along the road; (Qu. T16) Infs IA22, MA5, Bittersweet— a vine; KY47, PI. 194a InfOR12, Bittersweet. 76, Bittersweet. 1966 DARE Wildfl

bitter thistle

bitter plant See bitter grass

bitter

/

—

—

pepper root n =sweet flag.

bitter

bitterroot

pepper root

bitter

is

1 )

N

call that

weed.

Midi

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

:

.

OED

a nightshade (Solarium dulcamara:

also called dwale, fever twig, felonwort, matri-

vine, morel, poisonberry, poisonflower, pushion-berry,

skawcoo, snakeberry, terrididdle, tether-devil, viobloom, and wolf grape, or 2) Celastrus scandens, which is also called climbing bittersweet, climbing orangeroot, false bittersweet, fever twig, fever-twitch, gnome's gold, Jacob's ladder, Roxbury waxwork, staff tree, staff vine, waxwork, yellowroot, or 3) =pipsissewa. 1 766 ( 942) Bartram Diary of a Journey 4 (DAE), Bitter sweets are next in goodness to the china. 1813 Muhlenberg Catalogus Plantarum 25 PA, Slafftree climbing, (bitter-sweet). 1832 Williamson Hist. 1.120, Bitter-sweet, a hardy climbing plant of five feet high and shrubby, is good for the rheumatism, asthma, and jaundice, and in diet-drink. 1870 Amer. Naturalist June 215, Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), also called Roxbury Waxwork, is a hardy climber. 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.100, Chimaphila umbellata, bittersweet. N[ew] Hampshire]. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 4, American Bittersweet scarlet berry, let

1

1

.

.

ME

.

.

.

.

.

.

Nightshade Other common names— Bittersweet. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. 144) InfIL3l, Bittersweet not edible; MN29, Bittersweet edible; OH3, Bittersweet— Chinese red outside, breaks off and curls up, small, decorative; (Qu. S 7) Inf MD29, Bittersweet— climbs tree, gets red berry in fall; (Qu. S21) Inf RI12, Bittersweet— a vine; (Qu. S26a) Infs IA3, 47, MI69, OH2, 78, Bittersweet; NJ66, Bittersweet— vine with red berries; (Qu. S26c) Infs KS16, NY 12, Bittersweet; (Qu. S26d) Inf IL55, Bittersweet; (Qu. S26e) Inf MI 106, Bittersweet a vine with an orange flower; NJ29, BitterCelastrus scandens.

Ibid

—

1

1 ,

Bitter

.

.

.

—

1

—

bitterweed milk n [bitterweed + milk] chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map on p. 252 Cf bad-weed milk, bitter adj 1

Milk tainted by plants which the cows have grazed on. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. K14, Milk that has a taste from something the cow ate in the pasture) 46 Infs, Bitterweed milk; 10 Infs, Bitterweed. bitter

wintergreen n

A

pipsissewa (here: Chimaphila umbellata). 1822 Eaton Botany 236, Chimaphila umbellata .

.

.

(prince's pine,

]

.

bitterworm

/

black

252

blaa

v

n,

[Imit]

|blae:,bla:|

The bawl or

chiefly

Nth

make such a noise. 195 scattered throughout NEng, The map shows the verbs blare, blaa, used to designate the cry of a calf. 1967-69 (Qu. 1 9, Noise made by a calfthat 's taken awayfrom its mother) Infs MA55, NY163, [blae:]; (Qu. K66, The noise made by a sheep) Infs bleat of a calf or sheep; to

LANE Map

1939

.

.

.

DARE

.

K

CA145, IN69, MAI,

25,

MN23,

[bla;:];

PA 132,

Blaa;

TX33,

chatters; idle talk;

OED

[bla:];

[bla:].

blab n [Transf from blab one

who

cl374— also blabber: The mouth, joe, sometimes derog 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 121.66, Mouth blab, blabber. 1 967 - 70 DARE (Qu. X9, Joking or uncomplimentary words for a person 's mouth for example, you might say, "I wish he 'd shut his ") Infs LA6, MN12, 23, VA69, WI13, Blab; FL17, SC26, 34, 1

.

.

.

—

Blabber.

A device attached to a calf s nose to prevent suckling; see quot

2

...)... Tonics and diuretics. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 96. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 90, Bitter wintergreen ... An evergreen perennial that grows to 10 inches in height. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 217, Bitter wintergreen ... has also been used to give its pleasant taste to root beer. bitter wintergreen

bitterworm n

=buckbean

1.

Bitterworm. 1976 Miller Shaker Herbs 142, Buckbean Marsh Trefoil. Bog Myrtle. Used in the treatment of scurvy, hepatics, Bitterand worms. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 245, M. trifoliata worm, Bog Hop Leaves, bitter tonic. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful bitter-worm, One writer Plants 144, Buckbean, bog hop claims that "it is the most serviceable of all known herbal tonics."

1873

in

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

chiefly West See also blab-board (weaner) 1884 ( 966) Aldridge Life on a Ranch 1 83 KS, A 'blab' is a piece of thin board, six inches by four inches, which has a piece cut out of the middle of one of the longer sides, so shaped that you can just force it on to the membrane that divides the nostrils of a calf. When put on it hangs down over the mouth of the animal so that it cannot suck, but is able to graze without difficulty. 1922 Rollins Cowboy 193 West, The calf and his mater had to be chased so far apart as to permit the cowboy to rope and throw the calf, attach the blab, and remount his horse. 1934 Charlottesville Dly Prog 7 July 1/1 (Hench Coll.), Will Rogers Says You know what a blab is? It's a thing you put over a calf s mouth to keep it from eating between meals. 1 967 DARE FW Addit CO, Blabs a weaner for calves. Some have prongs or sharp points; momma objects [to it]. Others just keep the calf from sucking.

1884.

1

.

.

—

See victual

bittle

blab bittrun n [Metath of bittern]

To

=black-crowned night heron. 1932 Bennitt Check-List .

15,

.

.

.

.

.

wood

biver,

.

.

[all

A bullfrog

n, also attrib

+ biver alter of Scots and Engl dial .

.

.

Excited.

Also bismaroon

[Prob imit]

Cf DS

makes a deep, loud sound) Inf, FW: Inf has heard or read cwWI, Bizmaroon of, not used around here. 1950 WELSSuppl., 2 Infs, WI, Bismaroon a bull frog; Inf, csWI, Bismaroon large frog; "an old Frenchman very large frog that

ceVVI, Bismaroon;

1

—

Inf,

1

—

—

1

Green Bay selling bismaroon legs;" Inf, seWI, frog, used 40 years ago in Chippewa Co.

called at Joe's parents at

Bizmaroon

[blab n 2]

chiefly

West

(

1

966) Aldridge Life on a Ranch

1

83 KS,

One of our occupations,

1922 Rollins Cowboy 193 West, There were inspection trips on such ranches as "blabbed" their calves Blabbing was not always easy of accomplishment. 1937 Sandoz Slogum 92 NE, "We'll have to blab the kid," the brother sneered under his moustache, "like a damned sucking calf." as winter advanced, consisted in 'blabbing' calves. .

.

.

.

.

1

blabber-fest See blab-fest

blabberskite n [Blend of blabber son] joe, sometimes derog

A

-I-

blatherskite a foolish per-

talkative, blustering person.

1968-70 DARE(Qu. HH7a, Someone who talks too much, ortooloud: ") Inf MD31, ['bkeb^skait]; PA245, Blabber"He's an awful

1

WELS (A

1950

hence vbl n blabbing

blabber See blab n of a

bever a shiver, tremor] 1914 DN 4.68 ME, nNH, All of a biver

bizmaroon P22

.

See bettywood

of a adj phr

all

v,

attach a device to keep a calf from suckling.

1884

Black-crowned night heron. Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli bittrun. 1955 Forbush-May Birds 35, BlackBittrun. 1955 MA Audubon Crowned Night Heron Other Names: Bittrun (Mass. That is, bittern, 39.312, Black-Crowned Night Heron through confusion with the American Bittern.) bitty

.

— a bull

skite.

blab-blab n [Redup form of blab one who gossips or chatters] cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Blab-blab ... A too-ready talker, a gossip, a blabmouth.

1

biznacha See bisnaga bizzing vbl n

blab-board (weaner) n [blab n 2] chiefly West Cfblabv =blab n 2. 1961 Adams Old-Time Cowhand 154, Them boards were called "blabboards," or "blab-board weaners."

=bum-riding. 1969

DARE File cnUT,

[Brigham Young Univ. brochure about

traffic

and Moving Violations Miscellaneous: ( ) Bizzing $ 5 .00. 1 984 Ibid cnUT, Bizzing hanging on the back bumper of a car and skiing on one's shoes on slippery pavement; the term is especially common in the Utah Valley; regulations:] Penalties for Registration, Parking

—

.

cwCO, bla

A

.

.

1

—

Bizzing.

n Also

blala

[Seequot 1972]

HI

brother, friend, pal.

1972 Carr Da Kine Talk 1 24 HI, Bla, blala vs. brother— "Look at that blala.r uttered by a haole [=a white person] who is unsympathetic may be insulting. "Ey, bla!" uttered by a member of the peer group may be a warm and affectionate greeting. Reductions of the word brother, these are terms of address used by, and for, Island-born men and boys, whether relatives or friends. 1983 Des Moines Register (IA) 28 Jan sec Tl HI, "Rest da body; cool head maintain, blala," said Lagorio. "Blala means brother."

blab-fest n Also blabber-fest talk + fest] joe

[blab, blabber idle or excessive

A gathering

of people for talking or gossip; a gabfest. 1942 Berrey-Van den Bark Amer. Slang 191.1, Conversation: discusBlabfest. 1968 DARE (Qu. KK12, A meeting where there's a sion ") lot of talking: "They got together yesterday and had a real Infs CT9, IN22, Blab-fest; NJ61, Blabber-fest. .

.

.

black adj Cf black man 1 In var phrr referring to imaginary animals or beings: fearsome, evil, terrible.

1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE41, A hobgoblin that is used to threaten and make them behave:) Infs IN76, TN8, VA35, (Big) black dog; 5, Big black bear; WI24, Black goblin; IN 14, Black lady; AR3, Black witch; NY89, Old black Joe. children

MN

1

black n Cfblackie 1 A black duck (here: Anas rubripes).

a

253

black

In 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.9, Vernacular Names Black duck, black mallard, often shortened to blacks. general use. .

.

.

—

1943 Musgrove Waterfowl IA

Other names: dusky Black Ducks 1955 MA Audubon 39.314, Black Prevailing color dusky or blackish Field Guide 143, While in formation

19,

black mallard. Duck Black (Maine. Mass. brown). 1982 Elman Hunter's they fly a straight course, but Blacks are large, almost rise

duck,

black,

.

2

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

may

abruptly

.

.

Vernacular

.

.

.

To

blackball.

"He blacked

'em."

black adder n (here:

DARE (Qu.

Heterodon platyrhinos).

and

alder (here: the introduced

glutinosa, or the native spp A. rugosa

the latter

the other.

black-and-white creeper n =black-and-white warbler. Black and White Creeper. 1858 Baird Birds 235, Mniotilta varia 1917 DN 4 All LA, Black and white creeper. The black and white warbler (Miniotilta varia) [sic]. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 497, Black and White Creeper. 1967 Mniotilta varia Other Names .

DARE

.

.

.

.

(Qu. Q23) Inf PA44, Black-and-white creeper— looks like a

warbler.

black-and-white warbler n

black ankle

P25) Infs GA25, SC19, Black adder.

locally naturalized

and A.

Alnus [Note:

serrulata).

two spp are combined by some authors under Alnus

rugosa (Du Roi) Spreng.] 1805 (1905) Lewis Orig. Jrls. Lewis & Clark Exped. 3.261, The large In the eastern United States black alder. 1889 Century Diet. 1 1 34/ the common species are the smooth alder, A. serrulata, and the speckled alder, A. incana. Both are also known as black alder. 1967 DARE Tape TX1 And he used black alder [for home remedies]. 1979 Little CheckOther common names black list U.S. Trees 48, Alnus glutinosa alder. Ibid 49, Alnus serrulata Other common names common .

1

n, also attrib

[Probvar of brass ankle] chiefly SAtl

A

black alder n

An

.

Std: a small woodland bird (Mniotilta varia) with black and white plumage. Also called black-and-white creeper, blue-andwhite pied creeper, creeping warbler, striped warbler, whitepoll warbler

black-actually See back-actually

1

.

black-and-white creeping warbler See creeping warbler

1906 DN 3.126 nwAR, Black Used by members of lodges.

1966-68

stick,

.

black v [Abbr for blackball]

=hognose snake

—

that children play) Inf PA 133, Black and white black on one side, white on the other, indicates which team chases

outdoor games

.

Wood Duck

Black (111.). 1932 Bennitt Check-list 19 use Squealer; black; plumer. .

.

.

a black flying alone

=wood duck. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.16,

In local Names MO, Wood Duck

.

2 feet long.

.

.

.

.

.

black-backed woodpecker

/

,

person of mixed race, usu Black, Indian and White. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. C35. Nicknames for the different parts of your town or city) Infs NC49, 67, Black ankle (settlement); (Qu. HH29b. Names for people of mixed blood part Negro) Inf GA 5, Black ankle

—

—

1

mulatto.

light

black Annie n Also black Betsy [By analogy with black Maria]

A

police vehicle.

1967 DARE FW Addit nelL, Black Annie, same as black Maria. 1969 - 70 DARE (Qu. N3, The car or wagon that takes arrested people to the police station or to jail) Infs

KY6,

WV2

94. Black Annie;

1

,

Black

,

.

.

alder,

.

—

.

—

.

black alder.

.

.

.

winterberry (here: Ilex verticillata). 1824 Bigelow Florula Bostoniensis 129, Prinos Verticillatus. Black Alder Berries of a bright scarlet, bitter and unpleasant to the taste, with a little sweetness and some acrimony. 1868 (1870) Gray Field Botany 219, Common Winterberry or Black Alder. Common in low grounds. 1913 Torreya 33 NY, The berries of the black alder (Ilex verticillata) make the swamps gay after the leaves have fallen. 1942 Peattie Friendly Mts. 206 VT, At the border of the bog among the tall cinnamon ferns grows the black alder or winterberry. 1968 DARE (Qu. T15) Inf YVI8, Black alder scrub; some call it Wisconsin holly. 1976 Bailey -Bailey Hortus Third 593. Black Alder The most widespread of the N. Amer. hollies, a variable sp. with many intergrading forms. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 235, Rhamnus frangula by

.

is

.

.

now widely

.

1 An American ash (Fraxinus nigra), chiefly NEast, Gt Lakes Also called basket ash, brown ash, hoop ash, swamp ash,

naturalized, as the

water ash 1673 in 864 Essex Inst. Coll. 6. 78/2 MA, From the heap of stones on the No East Corner to a forked black ash. 1737 (1901) Hempstead Diary 3 6 (DA) CT, I cut a black ash ladder pole. 1872 VT State Bd. Ag. Report 154, An experiment had been tried by a Cornwall farmer, packing butter in spruce, oak and black ash tubs. 1916Seton Woodcraft Manual Girls 295, Black Ash, Hoop Ash, or Water Ash (Fraxinus

new

.

— Black-

nigra)

—A

1

NY227, WI58. Black =green ash.

16,

1897 ica

Also black tan

chiefly Sth,

S Midi

A

ica

3

.

.

.

.

.

.

=box

LA3, The black-and-tan and bluetick and redbone, they're more used for coon dogs.

black-backed

—

.

tan;

they're slower,

black and white n

A

children's tag game; see quots. 1909 (1923) Bancroft Games 52, Black and White ... The leader is provided with a flat disk which is white on one side and black on the other He twirls this disk, stopping it with one side only visible to the players. If the white side should be visible, the party known as the Whites may tag any of their opponents who are standing upright. The Blacks should therefore drop instantly to the floor, as in Stoop Tag Any player tagged drops out of the game. The party wins which puts out in this way all of its opponents. 1968D.4./?£(Qu. EE33, Other .

.

.

.

ash.

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 291, Acer negundo Black Ash (Tenn.). 1940 Clute ,4 mer. Plant Names \l%,A[cer] negundo Black .

.

.

.

.

.

ash, water ash.

1979

DARE

File

sMS

[Black speaker], Blackeyed peas are called

blackassed peas.

.

,

.

places; 70, 80, or rarely 100 feet

elder.

blackassed pea n joe

.

swampy

Sudworth Arborescent Flora 328, Fraxinus pennsylvanBlack Ash (N.J.). 1936 Winter Plants NE 179, F. pennsylvanGreen, Red or Black Ash.

dog, esp a hound, with black and tan coloring. 1856 Porter's Spirit of Times 1 Nov 140/2 AR, Dan brought home two of the finest black tans you ever laid vour eyes on. 1884 Harper's Mag. 69.464/2 MA, A jealous little black-and-tan stood by. 1939 Hall Coll. wNC, It was one of the bear hounds, a black and tan hound, and he was just cut up, bloody all over. 1948 Faulkner Intruder 5 MS, The was waiting at the house with the dog boy a true rabbit dog, some hound, maybe mostly hound, redbone and black-and-tan with maybe a little pointer somewhere once. 1967 DARE Tape LA 1 Them boys got an old black-and-tan they say'll tree a coon; LA2, She was a black-and.

of

forest tree

tall

1965 Needham-Mussey Country Things 85 s\T, Black ash or swamp ash was what he used to make baskets. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T15) 10 Infs. chiefly NY, MN, VVI, Black ash; (Qu. T16) Infs MI64. 76. high.

2

black-a-li-lo See blankie-lie-low n, also attrib

.

1

plants are distributed

birds.

black-and-tan

1

1

.

3 The alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula). .

1

.

—

alder

black ape See ape n black ash n

A

2

Betsy.

.

.

.

blackback See blackback flounder, black-backed woodpecker, great black-backed gull gull See great

black-backed gull

black-backed woodpecker n Also blackback A woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) distinguished by its dark color and three toes. Also called three-toed woodpecker 1872 Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 194, Black-backed Woodpecker

arcticus. 1927 Forbush Birds Other names: Black-backed woodpecker. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 391, Picoides arcticus Other Names ... Blackback. 1953 Jewett Birds WA 414. Black-backed Woodpecker. Picoides arcticus. 1968 DARE (Qu. Q17) Inf 5. Black-backed woodpecker.

MA

.

.

.

Picoides tridactylus

2.270, Picoides arcticus

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

MM

blackback flounder

blackberry

/

254

lily

black-bellied killdeer n

blackback flounder n Also blackback, black flounder =winter flounder. 1966 DARE Tape

ME 17,

DARE

Gray

sole,

lemon sole, blackbacks, dabs. good to eat)ln(MA40, Black-

Saltwater fish 1969 (Qu. P2, back; RI4, Blackback flounder. 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 384, Common Names: Winter flounder, blackback, black flounder. .

.

.

.

.

.

it is

black balsam n

opposite sex. (here:

Abies concolor).

FWP Guide UT 20, The white

name

of "black balsam,"

is

found

bearing the contradictory local lower elevation.

fir,

at

blackbark pine See black pine 2b

NY Trans. 1.146, Basse; is a Dutch word, Oswego, basse, a fine fish, like our black fish. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Black Bass ... A favorite game fish, found in abundance in most of our Northern lakes and Western rivers. 1896 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 47.1011, Microp(Black Bass.) 1905 DN 3.3 cCT. 1907 DN 3.209 nwAR, Black terus bass ... A lake fish. 1920 Forbes- Richardson Fishes ofIL 268, The Lit.

&

Philos. Soc.

signifying perch. Black, or

.

.

black-bass fisheries of

Illinois, practically

consisting altogether of the

894 to nearly 9,000 lb. 1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 3 3, None of our other fresh water fishes has been given 1965-70 DARE (Qu. so many popular names as our Black Bass. good to eat) 65 Infs, scattered, Black bass. Freshwater fish PI, present species,

amounted

in

1

1

.

.

.

.

2 See black sea bass. 3 =black rockfish. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 268, Sebastichthys mystinus, is most generally called the "Black Rockfish," but in Puget Sound is known, with its more abundant relative, Sebastichthys melanops, as the "Black Bass." 1898 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 47.1783, Monterey to Kadiak [sic], most abundant northward; very abundant at Sitka, where it is called good to Saltwater fish "Black Bass." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. P2, CA65, Black bass; CA 76, 9 Black sea bass. [Note: CA eat) Infs AK .

1

1

,

may refer instead 4 =red roncador. Infs

LaMonte

1946 .

.

Names:

.

.

1

.

1

.

to sense 4.]

N. Amer. Black Bass.

Game

Fishes

82,

Scixna

salurna

=hyacinth bean. Black Bean. 1868 (1870) Gray Field Botany 109, DfolichosJ Lablab Black Bean. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 212, LfablabJ Lablab

precisely the belly that

not black.

is

plum-

Also called beetlehead, bighead, black-bellied killdeer, black belly, black-breasted plover, blackhead, blackheart n 2, blacksnipe, bottlehead, brownie, bullhead 2a, bull plover, Christmas ~, chucklehead 1, four-toed plover, frost bird, gray lapwing, gray plover, gray sandpiper, gump, hollowhead, killdeer, May cock, mud plover, old-field plover, owlhead, oxeye, age.

1

2 also black

.

wax

DARE PA1

bean: =black-eyed pea. (Qu. 119) Infs GA88, LA33, MA68, NY70, OH87,

19,

AW

1874 Coues Birds Black-bellied Sandpiper. 489, Tringa alpina 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 181, Black-bellied sandpiper [Pelidna alpina]. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.237, Red-backed Sandpiper— Pelidna alpina Other Names Black-bellied Sandpiper. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 282, Red-backed Sandpiper Pelidna alpina Some twenty-five or more local names, among which are Black-bellied .

Black wax beans.

.

or the white-faced

1

.

.

.

.

Sandpiper.

black-bellied tree

A

tree

duck 2

duck n Also black-bellied whistling duck Dendrocygna autumnalis).

(here:

1898 (1900) Davie Nests N. Amer. Birds 103, Black-bellied Treeduck The eggs are deposited in hollow trees and branches, often at a considerable distance from water. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 3.38, Black-bellied Tree-duck 1938 Oberholser Bird Life LA 680, The Black-bellied Treeduck, although several times accredited to Louisiana, has apparently no definite record. 1951 Pough Audubon Water Bird 14, Black-bellied Whistling Duck Voice: A peculiar and characteristic shrill, chattering whistle, which it utters constantly on the wing. 1969 SC Market Bulletin 9 Jan 2, 1 pair black-bellied tree ducks. .

.

.

1

.

.

.

blackbelly n

=glut herring.

1

1896 U.S. .

.

Museum

Natl.

Bulletin

47.426, Pomolobus aestivalis

Black-belly.

2 =black-bellied plover. 1925 (1928) Forbush Birds MA 1.463, [The gold plover is] generally more yellowish above and below than Black-belly in autumn. 1944 Hausman Amer. Birds 263, Black-bellies [Squatarola squatarola] frequent the sand bars and flats exposed by the falling tide. 1954 Sprunt FL Bird Life 165, Flying out over the surf on one's approach, the Black-belly [Squatarola squatarola] will circle and alight again on the sands behind.

black belt n

A region where black tobacco is grown. Cf black patch 1944 PADS 2.64, The black-belt is a district where the soil and climate

1

The

DN

4.423 LA, Black beccroche. The white-faced glossy ibis (Flegadis [sic] guarauna). 1931 Read LA French 7, The term "Black ), as well as to Bec-croche" is given to the Glossy (Plegadis autumnalis ), two species that the White-faced Glossy Ibis (Plegadis guarauna inhabit principally the thick woods along the swamps and rivers in the southwestern parishes of Cameron and Calcasieu. .

.

.

.

black beech n [?From the similarity of the leaves to beech leaves]

Carpinus caroliniana).

Black beech, Admiral, 1920 Torreya 20.20, Carpinus caroliniana M[arylan]d." 1970 DARE (Qu. T16) Inf MA100, Black beech. .

.

.

section of a city

which

[i.e.

is

black-tobacco].

populated predominantly by

Blacks; the poor section of a city; a ghetto.

DARE (Qu.

DC1

Cf back

street 2

Inner city—used to be called the all Negro black belt or the ghetto the poor section; NC88, Black belt section of town. [Both Infs Black]

1970

ibis.

blackberry

1125), Inf

—

1,

—

n

iris

1970 DARE (Qu. S24, A wildflower that grows in swamps and marshes and looks like a small blue iris) Inf KY89, Blackberry iris.

blackberry

n

lily

An

introduced, now naturalized, lilylike plant (Belamcanda chinensis) of the family Iridaceae, which in fruit has a blackberry-like cluster of shiny black seeds. Also called dwarf tigerlily, flag, leopard flower, pardelle Corol[la] about 6-petalled: 1824 Eaton Botany 334, Blackberry lily stem flexuose: leaves ensiform. 1895 Gray- Bailey Field Botany 420, mottled above with crimBlackberry Lily Orange-colored flower .

black-bellied darter See darter

.

.

2

Either of two similar birds: the glossy ibis

(here:

.

.

are suitable for this type of tobacco

black bec-croche n Cf bec-croche

A hornbeam

.

.

.

.

1917

a

.

1

Black beans;

is

,

black bean n

1965-70

"Black-bellied" also

.

.

black-

.

=red-backed sandpiper.

of several freshwater fish of the genus Micropterus, esp

largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass. 1815

Black-bellied Killdeer,

is

.

MA Audubon 39.445, In

black-bellied sandpiper n

black bass n

Any

1955

palebelly, pilot, specklebelly, whistling plover

black basket See basket 4

1

name

NY).

Std: a plover (Squatarola squatarola) with black ventral

1883 Zeigler Heart ofAlleghanies 57, Every grove is composed of both black and white balsams, and no single tree is widely separated from its fir

this

I[slan]d,

black-bellied plover n

Prob =black spruce.

1941

(Long

bellied kildeer [sic]

misnomer, as the black of the under parts extends only to the thighs and

blackback sucker See black sucker 2

2 =white

U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.68, Squatarola squatarola full,

blackback pine See black pine 2b

1

=black-bellied plover. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 190 NEng, [Squatarola squatarola] called by many gunners along the coast the Black-bellied Killdeer. 1923

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

a

255

son spots, the

when

fruit,

the valves fall and expose whence the common names.

blackberry storm

the berry-like seeds,

946 Tatnall Flora July. Nat. from Asia. DE 88, Blackberry Lily. Escaped to roadsides 1967 DARE (Qu.S24) Inf PA99, Blackberry lily. 1967 DARE Wildfl imitating a blackberry,

.

QR

PI.

13 Infs

AR44,

45, Blackberry

.

1

.

lily.

Cf blackberry winter

A

1906

DN

3.126

nwAR, Blackberry storm

A

...

storm said to occur

"The Easter snap has passed; we now await the blackberry storm." 1947 Sun (Baltimore MD) 27 May 8/3 (Hench Coll.), The rains of the past week in Maryland were of the kind we used to refer to as the blackberry rains; and, sure enough, in keeping with bloom all over the State has come forth. The cold season that 1952 Brown NCFolkl. 1 .520, Blackberry storm

this tradition, the blackberry

.

.

.

sometimes comes when blackberries are in bloom. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 227 Ozarks, Blackberry winter ... A late cold spell in Blackberry squall is used in the same meaning. May or early June 1956 Hand Coll. swOH. .

.

.

summer n infreq Cf blackberry PADS 6.6 NC, VA, Blackberry summer

blackberry

winter .

.

blackberry vines are in bloom. Rainy weather

is

.

CfEDD

The season when

said to prevail.

made

drink

buzzard n

vulture.

DARE (Qu.

1967

black-billed

Q13) Inf SC43,

Black-bill buzzard.

cuckoo n

grayish-brown common North American cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) distinguished by a red circle around the eye and a black bill. Also called black bill, brush hen, chowchow 1, cow bird, cow-cow 2, egg-sucker, milk-sourer, rain crow, storm Std: a

crow black-billed logcock n

=pileated woodpecker. 1953 Jewett Birds WA 399, Western Pileated Woodpecker. Dryocopus Other names: Black-billed Logcock. pileatus picinus .

with blackberries, sugar and vinegar: see quot

.

.

.

n

DARE (Qu.

1969

Q14) Inf CT29, Black-billed raincrow.

black bindweed n

1818 (1920) Clark Diary 2319 CT, Had some blackberry vinegar to 1939 Wolcott Yankee Cook Book 326, Blackberry Vinegar 2 quarts blackberries sugar 2 quarts cider vinegar Combine and let stand Mash and strain through cloth. For every 3 quarts of juice add 5 pounds sugar. Boil When cool, bottle and seal. To serve, add one tablespoon to a glass of water. 1941 Percy Lanterns 42 MS, Aunt Nana might rustle in with glasses of blackberry vinegar, which apparently went out when cocktails came in. prepare.

.

—

—

—

.

—

.

.

.

.

blackberry winter n Also blackberry weather [Ref to the time of year, usu May and early June, when blackberries bloom] chiefly Sth, S Midi Cf blackberry storm, blackberry summer, blackbird storm, bloom winter, dogwood winter, fox-grape winter

A period

of cold weather in the spring; see quots. 1904 (1913) Johnson Highways South 162 cKY, Then, later, when the blackberries are in blossom, we have another cold spell what we call the blackberry winter. 1906 DN 3.126 nwAR. 1918 DN 5.18 NC. 1932 AmSp 7.233 MO. 1933 AmSp 8.1.47 Ozarks. 1949 Hornsby Lonesome Valley 53 KY, March stayed well on into April The weather turned cold. Uncle Lihugh said it was blackberry winter, but Aunt Rhody argued that it was dogwood winter. 1950P/1Z>S14.14SC. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY. 1960 Williams Walk Egypt 202 GA, It crept along during the fall and winter and next spring, a blackberry winter with the air so clear that she could hear from a mile away. 1966 DARE FW Addits GA, sIL, MS, TN, VA, Blackberry winter. 1967-70 DARE (QR pl3) Inf AL21, Blackberry weather— cold spell after Easter; (QR pi 2) Inf VA44, Blackberry winter. 1972 .

Blackberry Winter

.

(title).

black betty n Also black belts

[Cf

OED

betty sb.3]

chiefly

Liquor, spec a bottle of liquor passed among the guests at a wedding. 1823 Doddridge Logan 42 VA, He that got first to the bride's house, got black betty, which was the name they called the bottle. Ibid'43, Every boy and gal, old and young must kiss black betty; that is to take a good slug of a dram. 1846 Crawford Hist. White Mts. 45 NH, There I was loaded with a plenty of what some call "Black Betts." or "O be joyful," as it was the fashion in those days, to make use of this kind of stuff. 1859 ( 922) Jackson Col. 's Diary 1 3 PA, Black Betty having gone dry, a man was started to town for some more what? Why, liquor, of course. 1904 Greve Centennial Hist. Cincinnati 1.463, They did not forget to pass the 'old black Betty,' filled with good old peach brandy, .

.

.

1

annual species of Polygonum (P. convolvulus) which is a troublesome weed, esp in cultivated areas throughout the U.S. Also called blackbird bindweed, climbing buckwheat, cornbind, corn bindweed, devil's tether, ivy bindweed, knot bindweed, nimble-will, sow bindweed, wild bean, wild buckwheat 1824 Bigelow Florula Bostoniensis 158, Polygonum convolvulus Black Bindweed. 1891 Jesup Plants Hanover NH. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 163 CT. 1974 Munz Flora S. CA 703. .

.

blackbird n

A Black person, chiefly SC 1965-70 DARE (Qu. HH28, People of foreign ground. Negro) Infs GA7, PA 130, SC3, 11, 19, 21, 26, 40, 1

.

back-

.

.

44, 54,

Blackbird.

2 See quot. [Perh by analogy with black sheep]

1966 Barnes -Jensen looks

down upon

Diet.

UT Slang,

Black bird:

.

.

one whose

family-

his activities.

blackbird bindweed n

=black bindweed. 1900 Lyons Plant Names Bindweed.

300, Pfolygonum Convolvulus] 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 163 CT.

.

.

Blackbird

blackbird storm n Cf blackberry storm, buzzard storm 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 227 Ozarks, Blackbird storm

...

A

short cold spell in late spring, after the appearance of the blackbirds.

black blizzard n, also attrib Also black wind [From the dark color of soil particles suspended in air; orig coined to describe the dust storms of KS and in the 1930s] chiefly Plains States Cf black duster, ~ roller, ~ snow

OK

old-fash

.

An

.

black Betsy See black Annie

Midi

=black

bills.

=black-billed cuckoo.

1939.

Mead

n

bill

black-billed raincrow

blackberry vinegar n

A

late in the night

=black-billed cuckoo. 1969 DARE (Qu. Q14) Inf NY 134, Black

blackberries are in blossom.

1

1946

Country 64, Pretty

black-bill

spring storm or cold snap.

when

1957 McMeekin Old KY someone would remind the company that the new couple must stand in need of some refreshments: 'Black Betty.' which was the name of the bottle, did not go alone. marriage than they do to face a hangin.

black

blackberry storm n Also blackberry rain, ~ squall [Ref to the time of the year when blackberries bloom] chiefly Sth, S Midi

black blizzard

/

—

among the old pioneers. 1956 Settle Beulah Land 62 WV (as of 760s), They say marriages are made in heaven, but reckon up here they're made in Black Betty. These Presbyterians have to get drunker to face a 1

I

1

A dust

storm. 1934 Hench Coll. VA, The black blizzards of dust from the vast plains of Canada had spent their force, sweeping to sea on the Eastern seaboard, dropping tons of fertile farm soil en route. 1936 in 1938 AmSp 13.72 CO, OK, [Newspaper citations], 'Black Blizzard' Reaches Central Part

Of Oklahoma ... A vast cloud of dust rolled over Oklahoma todayparalyzing traffic on highways, ravaging wheat-fields, and blotting out the sun. Ibid, [It was] one of the worst 'black-blizzard' duststorms ever 1938 (1952) FWP Guide SD 53, Ushered in by the famous and devastating "black blizzard" of November 1933, the dust storm scourge was something new to Dakota prairies. 1952 Peattie Black Hills 86 SD, Despite drought and depression and the "black blizzards" of the thirties, these rugged ranchers hung on. 1967 DARE (Qu. B 8, Are there any special kinds of wind that you get around here?) Inf C024, Black wind— dust storm from Kansas. [Infold] 1967 DARE Tape CO 9, And ever' time you'd get a little wind why it was just a reg'lar black blizzard you might call it; KS1, When these black blizzards to strike this area.

.

1

1

.

blackboard eraser

came

.

.

.

black buzzard

/

you couldn't

see

256

where the windows were ...

for this terrific

dust storm.

blackboard eraser n [From the practice of pupils to ingratiate themselves with the teacher by cleaning the blackboard] 1967 DARE (Qu. JJ3b, When a school child makes a special effort to "get

ingood" with the teacher in hopes ofgettinga better grade: "She's an ")

awful

Inf

NJ

,

1

Blackboard

eraser.

1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 191, At Pine Point, Me., Portsmouth, N.H., in Massachusetts at Provincetown, West Barnstable, Chatham, New Bedford, and Falmouth, and at Stratford, Conn., Black-Breast [Squatarola squatarola] ... On Long Island at Moriches, Bellport, and Seaford, and in New Jersey at Barnegat, Tuckerton, and Cape May City, Black-Breast Plover. Ibid 195, Black-breast [Charadrius dominicusj. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.68, Black-bellied Plover (Squatarola squatarola) black-breaster. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 258, Black-bellied Plover Squatarola squatarola Some twenty-five .

black bonito See bonito 2

.

black bottle n Also black draught [From the association of "black" with death; orig hobo and underworld jargon] widespread, but esp Sth

A poisonous drink. 1927 DN 5.439 [Underworld jargon], drops. (2)

An

Tramps

opiate.

Black bottle ...

(1)

Knock-out

believe that doctors in charity hospitals

administer a poisonous opiate to a sick man to save the trouble of curing him. 1935 AmSp 10.78 [Sailors' slang], The black draught. A death potion supposed to be given to undesirable patients in charity wards. Also referred to as the black bottle. 1945 Saxon Gumbo Ya-Ya 76 LA, The black bottle is reputed to be a potent dose administered to the innocent and unknowing on entry to the charity hospital. Instant death is certain to follow, the body then to be rendered up to the students for Poison. To give one the carving. 1 950 PADS 14.1 4 SC, Black bottle .

.

.

black bottle was supposed to have been a method of getting rid of a patient in a hospital. Charleston. 1970 DARE (Qu. II5b) Inf FL52, Black bottle or needle if they want to kill him.

black bottle

See bottle

fly

fly 1

Black Bottom n [Black Negro + bottom n 2] esp SC The part of a town where Black people live. 1915 Lit. Digest 5 .500/2 Sth, Uncle Mose aspired to the elective office of justice of the peace in the "black bottom" part of town. 1967-68 DARE (Qu. C35, Nicknames for the different parts ofyour town or city) Inf GA19, Black Bottom— colored section; SC32, Black Bottommostly Negro inhabitants; SC51, Black Bottom Negro area; (Qu. 1

—

Names

or nicknames for the part of town where the poorer people, special groups, or foreign groups live) Infs GA19, SC32, 54, Black Bottom [where Black people live]. 1125,

black-bottom pie n chiefly Sth A pie which has chocolate custard as the bottom layer of the filling.

or

more

.

.

.

black-bottom road n =black road.

GA seGA,

Black bottom road

black bream n

Prob =pumpkinseed

DARE

1.

(Qu. PI,

.

.

Freshwater fish

.

.

good

to eat) Inf

GA25,

blackbreast n also blackbreasted sandpiper: =red-backed sandpiper. 1844 DeKay Zool. NY. 2.240, The Black-Breasted Sandpiper— Tringa cinclus This species is common on the coast of New York, which it reaches in April, and is then called Black-breast. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 182, At Seaford, L.I., in New Jersey at Tuckerton, Pleasantville, above mentioned, Atlantic City, Cape May C.H., Cape May City, and Cobb's Island, Va., Black- Breast. 1904 Wheelock Birds CA 66, Red-Backed Sandpiper, Common names: Black Breast. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.237, Red-backed Sandpiper— Pelidna alpina Other Names Little Blackbreast. 1932 Howell FL Bird Life 241 Red-backed Sandpiper Other Names: Blackbreast. 1955 MA Audubon 39.19, Red-backed Sandpiper. Black-breast (Maine). .

.

.

.

.

FL

Local

.

VA47, Black-breasted plover

Black-breasted plover;

—

plentiful.

SW

blackbrush n chiefly 1 A tar bush (here: Flourensia cernua). 1913 Wooton Trees NM 151, Blackbrush. Almost glabrous resiniferous

much branched shrub Sci. Bulletin 6.349,

FflourensiaJ cernua. 1944 Tar Bush; Black Brush; Hojase ... .

.

.

AZ

Univ. Biol.

An

indicator of

Chihuahuan Desert flora, it occurs in isolated areas in southeastern Arizona. 1981 Benson - Darrow Trees Deserts 295, Blackbrush Shrubs usually less than 1 m. high. the

.

.

SW

.

.

.

A desert shrub (Coleogyne ramosissima). Also called burrobrush 1923 Davidson -Moxley Flora S. CA 179, Black Bush. A diffusely branched somewhat spinescent shrub. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. B61, Blackbrush, also called Dixie blackb(r)ush ... The common name, blackbrush, is appropriate, since this bush, when abundant, lends a dark gray or blackish appearance to the landscape. 1957 Plateau (Flagstaff AZ) 30.33 AZ, In some of the side canyons will also be found black bush (Coleogyne ramosissima). 1 968 Abbey Desert Solitaire 33 seUT, Blackbrush, I observe, the common variety, sprinkled with tightly rolled little green buds, ready to burst into bloom on short 2 also blackbush, Dixie blackb(r)ush:

.

.

.

notice.

3 =mountain mahogany. 1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101 .43, Mountain-mahoganies (Cercocarpus Spp.) Local names for these shrubs include blackbrush and tallow bush. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. B51, True mountain mahogany ... bears a number of local names, including alder, blackbrush [etc]. .

.

4

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

chaparro prieto (here: Acacia rigidula).

Van Dersal Native Woody Plants 37, Acacia amentaBlackbrush ... A large shrub to small trees, bearing spines. 1954 True June 68 TX, The Palo Duro is filled with dense cedar brakes, mesquite jungles and blackbrush thickets. 1967 DARE (Qu. T5) Inf TX43, Blackbrush. 1967 DARE Tape TX29, Blackbrush. 1938

cea

.

.

.

black-bumper n, also attrib [From the practice of painting car bumpers black; see quot 1967] chiefly eOH, wPA Cf hookand-eye Dutch A member of an Amish or Mennonite sect which allows the use of cars and other motor-driven vehicles.

DARE Tape

PA30, Then in that group you also have the blackThe black-bumper is an off-fall [=off-shoot] They decided that they of the original horse-and-wagon Mennonites. wished to use machines or automobiles and farm-tractors and more modern equipment of this nature They painted their bumpers black so they could be spotted. If a black-bumper was going to drive to an ungodly place of some sort [like a tavern or movie theater], another member of the church would see him park there. They'd be able to recognize his car. 1968 DARE FW Addit OH81, [Inf] belongs to conservative Mennonites Knows black-bumper Amish as well as old .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

order.

blackbush See blackbrush 2

.

,

.

.

.

black-breasted plover

n

black butterbill n

.

2 See black-breasted plover.

Also blackbreast

=scoter. 1888 Trumbull

To 107 MA, Oidemia americana Black Butter-bill. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.148, Black Butter-bill. Scoter Oidemia americana some

(plover),

black-

Names of Birds

at Cohasset,

.

breaster

Usu

.

Plover. 1955 MA Audubon 39.444, American Golden Plover [Charadrius dominicusj. Black-breast (Maine, Mass.); Black-breasted Plover (Maine. The under parts of both sexes in breeding plumage are largely black.). 1967-70 DARE (Qu. Q10) Inf MI53,

.

1

.

1954 Sprunt

64, Black-bellied Plover: Squatarola squatarola

bumper Mennonites

.

.

Names: Black-breasted

1967

Black bream.

.

.

are: Blackbreast.

black buggy See black wagon

cl970 Pederson Dial. Survey Rural [=one paved with a black surface].

1966

1

names, among which

.

.

.

.

local

Bird Life

.

1951 Brown Southern Cook Book 308, Black Bottom Pie. 1952 Tracy Coast Cookery 122 MS, Black-Bottom Pie Bittersweet chocolate, 4 egg whites, 1 cup whipped cream Pour the chocolate custard into the piecrust, then cover with plain custard. 1968 DARE (Qu. H63, Kinds of desserts especially favored by people around here) Inf LA40, Black-bottom pie. .

.

the black-bellied plover; sometimes the golden plover.

black buzzard n 1 =rough-legged hawk.

.

.

.

black cahash

257

Diet. 2742,

1889 Century

Black hawk, the American rough-legged

hawk or black buzzard, Archibuteo lagopus 2 =black vulture.

sancti-johannis.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

MS87, Black

crow;

buzzard.

black cahash See black cohosh

.

.

A black bullhead lb. 1960 Amer. Fisheries Soc. List Fishes 53. Black

catfish

black cat on a line n Var of dead cat on the

NADS Letters Atlanta GA

1981

— specially

it

if dey

promises

.

it

sev'ral

—

1883 in 1958 Dickinson Letters 3.783 MA, Black Cake— 2 pounds Raisins Currants Cit2 Sugar,,, 2 Butter,,, 19 Eggs ron [etc]. 1885 Hearn Cuisine 144 LA, Rich Wedding Cake, or raisins, butter, currents [sic], Flour, eggs, Cake 1964 Amer. Heritage Cookbook 603, This recipe is of English origin and is known variously as Dark Fruitcake, English Fruitcake. Black Fruitcake, and Merry Christmas Cake. 1969 DARE FW Addit KY25, Black cake a fruit cake made around Christmas time by informant's mother. It was made in a wood stove, in a dishpan two feet in diameter and ten inches deep. It was baked slowly, one stick of wood at a time in the stove. It was for guests only and was supposed to last all year.

black cattle n pi 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Black cattle ter, not work cattle, or for breeding.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

citron.

blackcap n

A

chiefly Nth, esp

black raspberry,

NEast somewhat

old-

raining

(Qu. B26. When it's raining very heavily, you say, ") Inf AL54, Black cats.

DN

1.399 cNY. 1817 in 1959 AmSp 34.27 NY, Black Caps. 1895 1932 DN 6.283 CT. 1941 LANE Map 276 throughout NEng, These terms refer to black (or purple) raspberries only, especially the large cultivated variety Black caps. 1950 WELS (What kinds of berries grow wild in your neighborhood) 3 Infs, WI, Black caps. 1953 Hench Coll. wVA, We picked a mixture of blackberries, black caps and blueberries. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. 144)43 Infs, Blackcaps. [42 of 43 Infs Nth; of all Infs responding to the question, 71% were old; of those giving this response, 81% were old.] .

.

.

A wave resulting from strong wind.

[By analogy with white-

cap]

\9W DARE (Qu.O\5,

.

.

Kinds ofwaves) InfWl 12, Blackcaps— wind

stronger than whitecaps.

black-cape sparrow n Prob Harris's sparrow (Zonotrichia querula). 1966 DARE (Qu. Q21) Inf MI36, Black-cape sparrow.

+

black chaparral n [black

A chaparro

NY

1828 Bonaparte in Acad. Sci. Annals Lyceum Nat. Hist. 2.96. White-breasted black-capped Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis, Inhabits throughout North America. 1967 DARE (Qu. Q23) Inf 16, Blackcapped nuthatch. .

.

.

OH

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

=Maryland

yellowthroat. 1955 Oriole 20.12 GA, Black-cheek; Black-jaw (the male has a black

mask-like marking).

black cherry n Also mountain black cherry, wild black cherry A large, wild cherry (Primus serotina). Also called cabinet cherry, chokecherry, rum cherry, Virginia prune bark, whiskey cherry, wild cherry 1720 (1882) S. Sewall Diary 3.272 MA, She gave me a Dram of Black-Cherry Brandy, and gave me a lump of the Sugar that was in it. 1784 in 1785 Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Memoirs 1.449 PA, Primus The Small Black Cherry. The tree is small and shrubby. 1844 Knickerbocker 23.442 NT, The canal leads to the old mills down to the right yonder, where you see that grove of black-cherry trees. 1 905 U.S. Forest Serv. Bulletin 60.20 w.NC, About fifteen years ago some fine black cherrv was lumbered on Grandfather Mountain. 1965-70 DARE (Qu.' 144) Infs MA58, NC76, Black cherries; (Qu. 146) 28 Infs. chieflv Atl, Black cherries; NJ16, NY79, Wild black cherries: AR39. Black cherrv- (Qu. 153) Infs IL31. MN42, OH35, PA 18, Black cherries; (Qu. T16) 8 Infs, chiefly NEast, Black cherrv tree: PA 188, VA47, Black cherrv-; PA23 1 Wild black cherry. 1979 Little Checklist U.S. Trees 2 1 5, Primus serotina Other common names wild black cherrv, mountain black cherry. .

.

1791 Mass. Laws (1801) 1.509 (DA), No person shall hereafter, in either of the months of June, July, August or September, kill, any Otter, Beaver, Black-Cat, [etc.]. 1882 Century Illustr. Mag. 23.719/2 ME, The black cat is the most successful cub slayer. 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Words 3 cPA Mts, Black cat The fisher fox, (Pennant's Marten). 1966 DARETape ME26, Black cat and the fisher, and they're the same animal. 1968 DARE (Qu. P32) Inf NY71, Black cat— same as fisher. 1968 DARE Addit ceNY, Black cat— alternate name for fisher, a tree-dwelling member of the weasel family. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

FW

A

2

children's

1968

game played with

DARE (Qu.

OH42,

Black cat

EE1

1,

a bat

Bat-and-ball

— batter has to make

and

ball.

Cf cat n 3a

games for just a few players) it

to

first

Inf

base and back.

=brown bullhead 1. 805 Harris Jrl. Alleghany Mts. 1 6 OH, The Black Cat-Fish are caught weighing from six to one hundred and ten pounds. 1842 DeKay Zool. AT 4. 185, The Black Catfish, Pimelodus alrarius, occurs commonly in Wappinger's creek. 1905 (1906)NJ State Museum Annual Rept. 169, Ameiurus nebulosus Black Cat Fish. 1946 LaMonte A Amer. Game 1

1

.

.

.

—

.

.

A snowless period

in late

December.

1938 Stuart Dark Hills 337 KY, It was a black Christmas last year. It takes a white Christmas for a good crop year. 1950 WELS ( Sayings about the weather in connection with holidays) 3 Infs, WI, Black Christmas. 1968 DARE Tape AK6, Sometimes we have a black Christmas we don't have snow.

—

black cloud See cloud n

blackcoat

1

n, also attrib

not wearing a mask at a costume ball. New Orleans LA, Blackcoats ... At a carnival ball, the men who are not masked. "It's time they let the blackcoats dance." 1934 Carmer Stars Fell on AL 238. The younger men and the male visitors in town importantly make engagements for the "black-coat" dances that the maskers unselfishly allow them [at the Strikers' Ball on New Year's Eve in Mobile. Alabama]. that

is

1916 D.V4.268

black cod n

.

r

.

.

,

A man

black catfish n Also black cat 1

.

black Christmas n [By analogy with white Christmas]

NEast

.

1953]

black-cheek n Also black-jaw

.

black cat n 1 =fisher 1.

Cattle for slaugh-

A very thorny kind 12, Black chaparral of brush peculiar to the Southwest. 1951 PADS 15.33 TX, Acacia Black chaparral. 1953 AmSp2&. lOOSW, Black chaparamentacea ral .. Acacia amentacea Black chaparral might be considered a partial loan-translation of chaparro prieta, another name for this plant. 1967 DARE (Qu. T5) Inf TX22, Black chaparral.

.

=white-breasted nuthatch.

.

prieto (here: Acacia rigidula).

.

black-capped nuthatch n

.

chaparral; see also quot

1944 Adams Western Words

.

black-capped night heron See black-crowned night heron

.

"It's

SW

chiefly

.

fash

2

DARE

1969

.

—

1

—

.

cake.

Flour,,,

.

promise you some-

times and don't I thought it do it: dat's de black cat on a line." "You said 'black cat' It's when somebody do was "dead cat'." "It don't make no diffunce somethin' contrary to what dey say dey gonna do dat's de cat on a line." "Kinda like 'double-crossing' somebody?" "Yeah dat's exactly it." thin'

and don't do

line

[Black]. "[If] dey

black cats, rain v phr

Black

— see bullhead,

black [Ictaluras melasj.

.

black cake n Also black fruitcake

A kind of fruit

.

.

2

.

Black .

black cod

1966-70 DARE Black Catfish. Fishes 164, Ameiurus nebulosus Freshwater fish good to eat) Infs GA25, LA8, SC32, (Qu. PI, VA79, Black cat. .

Other names.— 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 2.57, Black Vulture 1932 Bennitt Check-list 21 MO, Black vulBuzzard. Southern Missouri. 1962 Imhof AL Birds Black buzzard ture Except for the large, white areas near the tip of 165, Black Buzzard each wing, this vulture is black, even to the skin on the bare head. same as carrion 1968-70 DARE (Qu. Q13) InfGA18, Black buzzard

/

.

=sablefish.

1S81 Goode Amer. Fishes27l,TheBeshow,Anoplopomafimbria,

.

.

is

black cohosh

black duck

/

eat)

DARE

1968

the "Black-cod."

258

(Qu. PI,

.

Freshwater fish

.

.

good

.

to

InfAKl, Black cod.

black cohosh n Also black cahash Cf cohosh 1 =bugbane 1, esp Cimicifuga racemosa. Vulgar 1828 Rafinesque Med. Flora 85, Botrophis serpentaria Names Squaw root, Black Cohosh &c. 1830 Huntington (Penna.) Courier 1 5 Sep 4/5 (DA), American Remedies Wanted Rattle Weed .

—

.

.

Bartlett

.

.

.

.

dark

— completely dark,

here

till it's

in the evening.

"He wants

us to stay around

black dark."

black darter See darter black diamond n freq pi: Coal, chiefly in coal mining areas

1

1916

.

DN 4.320 KS,

NE, PA, Black diamonds Coal. 1926 AmSp The diamond thrower was cracking the black 1929 AmSp 4.368 swPA. 1943 AmSp 18.162 [Railroad .

.

.

1.265 [Railroad jargon],

2 =baneberry 1. var. rubra black 1896 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 9.179, Actaea spicata cohosh, Paris, M[aine]. 1936 Winter Plants NE 52, Actaea L. Baneberry. Black Cohosh. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 219, Actaea (various species) Baneberry, black cohosh ... All with pretty berries which are highly poisonous. .

.

.

.

—

black coot n Also black sea

coot,

black coot butterbill

=scoter. In Massa1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 107, Oidemia americana chusetts at Salem and Cohasset, at Stonington, Conn., and on Long Island at Shinnecock Bay and Bellport, Black Coot. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.148, Scoter Oidemia americana. Black Coot; Black Sea 1925 (1928) Forbush Birds MA 271, Oidemia ameriCoot. cana Black Coot Butterbill. 1968 DARE (Qu. Q9) Inf MD45, Black .

.

.

.

diamonds. terms], Black diamonds. Company coal. 1970 DARE (Qu. Kinds of stone or rock C26, in this part of the state) Inf PA245, .

.

.

Black diamond

—

.

coal.

pi: Dense black hematite. 1959 Hart McKay's AK 29, Black diamonds: Local iron ore which is brilliant jet when cut and polished, and is popularly used as settings for rings, bracelets, and other types of jewelry.

2

3 See quots. 1926 AmSp 1 .660, Paul sent me after two wagon loads of pole holes and strung the wires to forty miles of Western Union "Black Diamonds" (poles dipped in creosote).

—A

monds

logger's

black-diamond

term

Adams Western

1968

for poles

Words, Black diadipped in creosote.

n Also black diamond [From the dorsal

rattler

markings]

coot.

=diamondback

black crane n 1970 DARE (Qu. Q10) Inf VA47, Black crane crowned night heron.

.

probably the black-

.

1967-70

mond

rattler;

death]

black-crested night heron See black-crowned night heron

An

black croaker n 1

but

1898 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 47.1456, Scixna saturna Red Roncador; Black Croaker. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 82, Black Croaker saturna Sciaena Croaker Spotfin Names: Black Croaker. 1960 Amer. Fisheries Soc. List Fishes 31, Black Croaker Cleilotrema salurnum. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black-crowned night heron n Also black-capped ~ crested

.

.

.

black-

~ Also

nycticorax).

called barking bird, bittrun, bumcutter, buttermunk, fox bird,

frog catcher, gobly-gossit, grosbec, Indian hen, Indian pullet, crane,

marsh hen, meadow hen, night

bird, night crane,

nighthawk, night hen, night heron, night raven, night skoggins, plunket, quack, quark, quaw bird, quawk, red-eye, shitepoke, squalker, squaw bird, squawk, wagin 1844 DeKay Zool. NY 2.227, The Black-crowned Night Heron, or Quawk, derives its popular name from the deep guttural cry. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Q3) Inf ME8, Black-crested night heron; CT5, Black-crowned night heron; (Qu. Q8) Inf CA 140, Black-crowned night heron; (Qu. Q10) Infs GA25, IA3, MA78, Black-crown(ed) (night) heron; C07, GA35, Black-capped night heron. .

Black-dia-

chiefly

Nth

old-fash

LANE Map

508

swNH,

Diphtheria, white ~, a mild form of the

DARE (Qu. BB49, Kinds of diseases)!^ MI105, FW: Inf recalls years ago the "black diphtheria," when old-fash. victims were buried at night; MN10, NY8, Black diphtheria 1967-69

disease; black ~, fatal.

.

.

—

[All Infs old]

black dish n

DN

—

1914 4.103 KS, Black dishes Cooking utensils, by contrast with glass and china. "I will leave the black dishes for her to clean up." .

black-dogged ppl

adj [black

.

.

+ dog

v]

euphem

Damned, darned.

North American night heron (Nycticorax

little

P25) Infs CA191, LA8, TX74, WV3, CA7, Black-diamond.

extreme form of diphtheria.

1943

Either of two Pacific croakers la(2): esp the red roncador also the roncador.

.

rattlesnake.

DARE (Qu.

black diphtheria n [From the association of "black" with

black crappie See crappie

A

.

.

Black Snakeroot.

.

.

.

.

.

Americanisms 91, Cohosh,

sometimes called Black Cohosh or Black Snake-root (Cimicifuga racemosa), a well-known medicinal plant. 1910 Graves Flowering Plants 192 CT. 1964 Campbell Great Smoky Wild/lowers 62, Black Cohosh Cimicifuga americana. 1976 Bruce How to Grow Wild/lowers Other names for this plant are Black Cohosh and 167, Bugbane .

.

.

.

1859 (1968)

or Black Cahash.

.

.

black dark n prob Sth, S Midi Cf black night, full dark Nighttime at its darkest. 1939 Hall Coll. eTN, wNC, Black dark "When it's so dark you can't see nothin'." The informant contrasted "black dark" with "dusky-dark." 1942 Hurston Dust Tracks 32 FL, About an hour later it was almost black dark. 1967 DARE FW Addit LA7, Black

.

1943 Hench Coll. VA, I'll be black-dogged people what I've been doing.

if I'll

keep on doing for some

black dolphin n ?obs

=bean aphid

(here: Aphis fabae; A. rumicis). 1849 U.S. Patent Office Annual Rept.: Ag. 339, Another species, which, black dolphins, or colliers. from their sooty color, are called the .

.

black draught See black bottle

Jblack drops, the n [drop in ref to falling] A state of mild physical discomfort. 1966 DARE (Qu. BB39, On a day when you don feel just right, though not actually sick you might say) Inf FL10, I have the black drops 't

[laughter].

black curlew n prob chiefly Sth

black drum n chiefly

Either the glossy ibis 1 or the white-faced ibis. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.177, Glossy Ibis—Plegadis autumnalis Other Names Black Curlew. 1928Bailey Birds NM101, At a distance they [=the white-faced glossy ibis] looked black enough to justify their common local name Black Curlew. 1932 Howell FL Bird Other Name: Black Life 115, Eastern Glossy Ibis: Plegadisfalcinellus Curlew. Ibid 1 1 7, White-faced Glossy Ibis: Plegadis guarauna Other Name: Black Curlew. 1951 Teale North Spring 34 FL, To natives of the region the glossy ibis, with its dark plumage and downcurving bill, is the "black curlew." 1954 Sprunt FL Bird Life 43, Eastern Glossy Ibis: Plegadis falcinellus Local Names: Black Curlew. 1962 Imhof AL Birds 105, White-faced Ibis Other Names: Black Plegadis chihi Curlew. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

A saltwater drum

C and S Atl

(here:

1709 (1967) Lawson

New

Pogonias cromis). Voyage 159 NC, Black Drums are

shap'd not so common with us as to the Northward. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 1 37, The adult is known as the 'Black Drum,' the young as the 'Striped Drum.' 1968 Atlantic Co. Rec. (Mays Landing NJ) 25 July 2/2, A 109-lb. black drum, IOV2 pounds above the recognized world all-tackle record for this species, was reported caught in mid-June Saltoff Highland Beach in Delaware Bay. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. P2, goodtoeat) Infs MD36,SC63,VA41, Black drum;(Qu.P4) waterfish Addit NC, Black drum— a fish. FL13, Black drum. 1969 DARE like a fat pig; they are

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

FW

black duck n 1 Any of var ducks dark in color as the Florida duck, the mallard

black cluster

259

/

black-eyed cowpea

chiefly

grandpaws was part Black Dutch and part Irish." Just who the Black Dutch were originally seems to be a mystery, though the term is well-

called black, black English duck, blackie, blackjack, black mal-

known

brown duck, brown mallard, clam duck, dusky duck, dusky mallard, English duck, Labrador duck, mallard, marsh duck, nigger duck, October duck, puddle duck, puttylegs, red-legged

nicknames around here for people offoreign background

1,

the ring-necked duck, or the scoters but esp Anas rubripes. NEast, Mid and C Atl See Map A. rubripes is also

lard,

black duck, redleg, red paddle, spring black duck, summer black duck, summer duck, velvet duck, winter black duck, winter duck 1637 (1972) Morton New Engl. Canaan 68, Ducks there are of three kindes, pide Ducks, gray Ducks, and black Ducks in greate abundance. 1844 DeKay Zool. NY 2.344, The Black Duck [Anas rubripes], as it is universally called except in the books, is very abundant in this State. Very generally 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 17, Anas obscura known in New England and Middle States as Black Duck. Ibid 98, White-winged Scoter ... In the neighborhood of Niagara Falls Black Duck. Ibid 103, Surf Scoter: Surf Duck: Black Duck. 1917 Wilson .

Bulletin 29.2.77,

Anas platyrhynchos.

— Black

.

.

duck, Cape Hatteras.

1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 1 3.8, Mallard Vernacular Names In local use. Black duck (N.C). Ibid 9, Black Duck (Anas rubripes). Ibid 10, Southern Black Duck (Anas fulvigula). Ibid 21, Ring-necked Duck Vernacular Names In local use Black duck (Minn., Wis., Ala., Miss., La., Tex., Oreg.). Ibid 27, N.C.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Vernacular Names In local use Black ducks (Alaska). Ibid 29, White-winged Scoter Vernacular Names In local use Black duck (N.Y.). Ibid 30, Surf Scoter Vernacular Names In local use Black Duck. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds 167, American Scoter [has] some twentyfive or thirty local names, among which are: Black Scoter, Black Sea Duck, Black Coot, Black Duck. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Black duck One of the species known to most natives. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Q5) 12 Infs. chiefly NEast, Mid and C Atl, Black duck. Scoters

.

.

.

Collective

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

mountains.

in the

IN 10. OK6. VA1

1965-69

DARE

.

HH28, Names and

(Qu.

.

.

.

Hollanders)

—

NC55. Black Dutch dark skinned, long hair, from England: (Qu. HH29a. Names around here for part Indian) Inf GA77, Black Dutchman [FW: people of mixed blood Infs

29. Black Dutch:

1,

—

Inf is not able to explain the term],

black eagle n

=golden eagle. [From the color of the immature plumage] 1693 Royal Soc. London Philos. Trans. 17.989, The Third is the Black Eagle, resembling most the English Eagle; they build their Nests generally at the top of some tall old Tree. 1917'( 1923) Birds Amer. 2.82, Other Names Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos Black Eagle. 1

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 =bald eagle 1 1888 (1890) Warren Birds PA 135, The "Black." "Gray" and "Washington" Eagles are all young of the Bald Eagle. 1955 MA Audubon 39.442. Bald Eagle Black Eagle (Maine. For birds in immature plum.

.

age

..

.

).

.

3 =rough-legged hawk. [From the size and color] 1968 DARE (Qu. Q4) Inf WI43, Black hawk— big, some

call

black

eagles.

.

.

.

.

.

—

1

black-eared bream n =bluegill 1. 1935 Caine Game Fish 11, Bluegill Lepomis pallidus ... Synonyms: Black-eared Bream. Ibid 26. Redbreasted sunfish LeSynonyms: Black-eared Bream. pomis auritus 1

—

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 also black-eared pondfish: =red-breasted sunfish. r 1935 [see 1 above]. 1946 LaMonte A Amer. Game Fishes 139, .

Lepomis auritus

.

.

.

Names:

.

.

Black-eared Pondfish.

blackears n =longear sunfish. 1820 Western Rev. 2.49. Big-ear Sunfish. Icthelis megalotis, a fine Black-ears. 1946 LaMonte A*. Amer. Game Fishes .

species, called

139,

.

.

.

Lepomis megalotis

.

.

Names:

.

.

Blackears.

blacked road See black road black English duck n Cf English duck

A black duck (here: Anas rubripes). 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds

17.

Black Duck ...

We hear

ing South Carolina or Georgia, Black English Duck, the

.

.

title

reachcontinu-

.

.

1932 Howell FL Bird Life 131, Red-legged Black Other Names: Black English Duck.

ing into Florida.

Duck

.

.

.

.

.

blackeye See black-eyed pea black-eyed bean n Also blackeye bean chiefly Nth, Midi See

Map An

obs 1768 Hutchinson Hist.

2

Indian,

MA

Bay 2.295, From this or a like action, a common expression among English soldiers and sometimes English hunters who, when they have killed an Indian, make their boast of having killed a black duck. 1889 Nelson 50 Yrs. 336 West, We selected a high hill, and I laid on the ground with my glass, watching for "black ducks." probably took

rise

.

=black-eyed pea. 1868 (1870) Gray Field Botany 109, Black-eyed Bean. fVigna sin1965-70 DARE (Qu. 119) 135 Infs, chiefly Nth, Midi, Blackensis]. eyed beans: CA77, 10, NJ5, NY87, 200, OR3, Blackeye beans.

MO

.

black duster n

=black blizzard. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX corded

in the

77,

Black duster.

A

heavy sandstorm. Re-

Panhandle.

black Dutch n Also black Dutchman

esp

common

Sth,

S Midi

A dark-complexioned

people of uncertain origin: see quots. 1854 (1932) Bell Log TX-CA Trail 35.224, Along down the center of my breast is a brown stripe like the stripe on a black Duchmans [sic] back. 1867 Crawford Mosby 115 VA, Mosby moved us some three with the view of surprising a camp of black Dutch cavalry. miles 1920 Hunter Trail Drivers TX 4 We passed some two or three times a big black Dutchman rolling a wheelbarrow. 1930 Shoemaker 1300 Dark Pennsylvania Words 8 cPA Mts (as of c 1900), Black Dutch Mountain people, probably of near Eastern or aboriginal stock. 1939 Hall Coll eTN, wNC, Black Dutch ... A local type of people of Germanic (?) extraction. The Foxes are known as "black Dutch. Pennsylvania is as far back as we can trace them. They are low, not tall, small and have black features." 1960 Hall Smoky Mt. Folks 27 TN, "One of my .

.

1

,

—

black-eyed clockvine See black-eyed Susan

black-eyed cowpea See cowpea

1

black-eyed daisy

blackfish

/

black-eyed daisy n =black-eyed Susan

260

—

.

.

.

Brown-eyed Susan.

1927 Forbush Birds MA 2.202, Barred Owl. Other names: Blackeyed Owl Iris brownish-black or bluish-black, always nearly black. 1955 Forbush -May Birds 272. .

.

(pea), rarely

black pea

[From

widespread, but esp freq in Sth, Midi

the black hilum]

frequently cultivated white bean of the genus Vigna, esp V. Also called black bean, black-eyed bean, black-eyed

sinensis.

Susan, blue-eyed bean, bung belly, chain-gang pea, China bean, cow bean, cowpea, cream pea, crowder 1728 (1841) Byrd Westover Mss. 27, Each cell [of a N.C. pine cone] contains a seed of the size and figure of a black-eye pea. 1855 Davis Farm Bk. 183 AL (DA), We thrashed 24 Bushels black peas. 1856 TX Almanac for 1857 13, Plant Black-Eyed Peas. 1895 Gray- Bailey Field Botany 135, VfignaJ Sinensis Black Pea. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. 119) 594 Infs, esp common Sth, Midi, Black-eyed peas; 31 Infs, chiefly Sth, Blackeye peas; 14 Infs, scattered, Blackeye(s); (Qu. 120) Infs CA36, .

.

.

.

Black-eyed peas; NC8 Blackeye peas; GA17, Blackeye; NCI 5, 1970 Correll Plants TX 889, Vigna unguicu81, TN52, Black peas. lata Black-eyed pea. 1972 Milliard Hog Meat 275, There were several varieties of peas grown in the southeastern states. Known locally by such names as "crowders," or "blackeyes," they were much more commonly grown than green peas or any of the beans. The species was Vigna sinensis.

MD14, .

1

,

.

black-eyed Sue See black-eyed Susan

2,

4

black-eyed Susan n Cf purple black-eyed Susan 1 also black-eyed Susan vine, black-eyed clockvine: A twining ornamental plant (Thunbergia alata) with dark-centered flowers.

Also called bright eyes 3

1891 Century Diet. 22.6320/1, Thunbergia ... the hardy annual T known locally by the name black-eyed-Susan from its buff, orange, or white flowers with a purplish-black center. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 1226, T. alata Black-eyed Susan Prairies, roadsides, and wasteplaces, Fla. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 287, The black-eyed clockvine or black-eyed-susan, Thunbergia alata, is an immigrant from Africa. It has trumpet-shaped flowers with a conspicuous deep purple "eye." 1976 Bailey-Bailey Hortus Third 1232, Popular ornamentals in the southern U.S. for covering porches, trellises, and arbors Black-eyed Susan Vine. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Worms usedfor bait) InfsIL32, Blackeyed Susan half inch wide and as long as an old-fashioned match golden beige color; VVI38, Black-eyed Susans.

—

.

.

.

.

—

black-eyed Susanna See black-eyed Susan 2

black-eyed Susan vine See black-eyed Susan black-eyed Susie n

chiefly Sth,

1

S Midi

also blackeye Susie: =black-eyed Susan 2. 1965- 70 DARE (Qu. S7) 21 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, Black-eyed Susie; FL48, MD20, OH69, SC10, 67, Black-eye Susie; (Qu. S21) Inf IN26, Black-eyed Susie; (Qu. S26a) Infs SC7, VA43, Black-eyed Susies. 1

2 See black-eyed Susan 4.

black-eye gravy n Cf brown-eye gravy, frog-eye gravy, red-eye gravy See quot 1966. 1966 DARE FW Addit SC, Black-eye gravy a ham or cured ham gravy used on grits, rice, etc. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. H37) Infs NC41, SC3, Black-eye gravy.

—

blackeye pea See black-eyed pea blackeye sunfish n Also blackeyes =green sunfish. 1819 Western Rev. 1.376, Blackeye Sunfish, Icthelis melanops. Vulgar names, blue-fish, black-eyes. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes Blackeye Sun138, Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus Names:

—

.

.

.

.

.

black fay n [black

+ fay]

A

Black who is deferential or subservient toward Whites. 1964 PADS 42.29 Chicago IL [Black], Most of the terms collected exclusively from Negro informants are rare within the Caucasian social dialects of Chicago, e.g.,

.

.

black fay. Ibid 44, Black fay

is

applied to the

modern counterparts of Uncle Tom.

.

.

blackfin Cisco n Also blackfin

A

herring-like foodfish

found esp

in the

Great Lakes.

Also

.

2 also blackeye Susan, black-eyed Sue, ~ Susanna: A coneflower 1, esp Rudbeckia hirta. Also called black-eyed daisy, flirt,

6 See quot. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. P6,

fish.

alata,

black-eyed

5 =Johnny-jump-up. 1 966 - 69 DARE (Qu. S3, A flower like a large violet with a yellow center and small ragged leaves) Infs AL2, GA25, IN62, Black-eyed Susan.

.

black-eyed pea n Also blackeye

A

name black-eyed susan. 1959 CarleBlack Eyed Susan: Hibiscus trionum.

3,

1

4 also black-eyed Sue, ~ Susie: =black-eyed pea. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. 119) 16 Infs, scattered, Black-eyed Susans; NJ53, Black-eyed Sues; IL41, KY44, PA 159, Black-eyed Susies.

119) Inf DE3, Black-eyed mollies.

owl.

.

DARE (Qu.

ton Index Herb. Plants

black-eyed owl n

.

.

tered blossoms have inspired the

black-eyed mollie n =black-eyed pea.

A barred

.

3 =flower-of-an-hour. 18927a-/. Amer. Folkl. 5.93, Hibiscus trionum, black-eyed Susan. N[ew] Hampshire]. 1949 Moldenke Amer. Wild Flowers 111, The dark-cen-

black-eyed flirt n =black-eyed Susan 2. 1921 DN 5.1 13 CA, Blackeyed flirt

DARE (Qu.

.

1965-70

1920 Torreya 20.25, Rudbeckia hirta L. Black-eyed daisy, Baltimore, Md. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. S7, A kind ofdaisy, bright yellow with a dark center, that grows along roadsides in late summer) Infs KY28, 35, LA43, NY60, SC4, Black-eyed daisy.

1968

Daisy with dark brown centre and orange-colored rays. S7) 590 Infs, widespread, Black-eyed Susan; 10 Infs, scattered, Blackeye Susan; MI53, Black-eyed Sue; NC44, Blackeyed Susanna; (Qu. S26a) Infs CT 15, IL26, NY67, NC52, TX59, Blackeyed Susan; (Qu. S26c) Inf FL1, Black-eyed Susans; (Qu. S26d) Infs CT9, KY49, MI80, Black-eyed Susans.

Susan

2.

black-eyed Susie, black Susie, brown betty

brown

2,

daisy, brown-eyed daisy, brown-eyed Susan 1, brown Susan, bull's-eye daisy 1, button daisy, chiggerweed 3, coneflower 1, cow daisy, daisy, dark-eyed daisy, lane daisy, lazy daisy, lazy Susan, nigger daisy, niggerhead, nigger hill, nigger navel, niggernose, nigger tits, niggertoe, oxeye, oxeyed daisy, oxeyed Susan, sheepnose, suwanee daisy, wild-eyed Susan, yellow daisy, yellow Susan. For other names of R. hirta see bull daisy 1, English bullseye, golden Jerusalem, meadow coneflower, poor man's daisy, Susan, yellow oxeye daisy. For other names of var spp see blackhead 6, darkey head, deer-eye daisy, goldenglow, green-headed coneflower, nigger thumb, prairie coneflower, sweet coneflower, thimble flower, thimbleweed 1892 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 5.98, Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susans. N. V[ermon]t; Cape Cod. 1896 Ibid'9. 193, Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susan, Sulphur Grove, Ohio. 1907 DN 3.181 seNH, Black-eyed .

.

.

.

called bluefin

1875 Amer. Naturalist

9.

1

35, This Indiana

Argyrosomus appears to be

quite distinct from the species found in Lake Michigan;

i.e.,

the shallow-

water 'herring' and 'black fin' (A. nigripennis). 1960 Amer. Fisheries Coregonus nigripinnis. 1976 Soc. List Fishes 11, Blackfin cisco DARE File Isle Royale MI, Some fishermen called deep-water bluefin .

.

.

.

"blackfin."

blackfish n 1

also

Island,

Zool.

N

and C Atl chiefly Amer. 68, In the sea adjacent to this island [=Long N.Y.] are sea-bass and black-fish in great plenty. 1842 DeKay

smooth

1765 Rogers

NY 4.

1

blackfish: =tautog.

r

A

76,

.

The Common

Black-fish, or Tautog,

.

.

is

a well

known

and savory fish, affording equal pleasure to the angler and the epicure. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 288, On the coast of New York it [Tautoga onitisj'is usually called "Black-fish"; in New Jersey also "Black-fish" and Tautaug. "Smooth Black-fish." 1905 DN 3.3 ceCT, Blackfish 1931-33 LANE Worksheets cCT. 1939 Natl. Geog. Soc. Fishes 66, The tautog has several names ... In New York and New Jersey it is known as the blackfish. In Chesapeake Bay it occasionally is called blackfish. 1947 Hunting & Fishing Feb 32/2 (DA), Blackfish (Tautog): from May to .

.

.

— black flounder

261

will find them on their runs in the salty waters, and it is around "apple blossom" time is one of the best early runs. 1949 Richmond (VA) Times-Disp. 30 Aug 20/1 (Hench Coll.), A fish which is abundant in the [Chesapeake] Bay, especially in the Fall, and which is sometimes neglected by the fisherman, is the blackfish or tautog. 1968-70 Z)AR£(Qu. P2) InfsCTl 3, 14, 17, 31, 42, NY47, 66, 236, Blackfish; RI4, Tautog or blackfish; RI 1 7, Tautog = blackfish; (Qu. P4) Inf MA40, Blackfish. 1975 Evanoff Catch More Fish 105, Another popular bottom fish is the blackfish or tautog. They are most plentiful from Massachusetts to Virginia.

/

black grass

November you

"freeze." Popularly supposed to be so called because the wilted vegeta-

said that

tion turns black.

.

.

A friend suggests that a black frost is so called because of 1939 LANE Map 98 throughout

the absence of any white frost (rime).

NEng, Black frost is sometimes defined as less severe than a freeze sometimes as the same thing. 1940 Richter Trees 122 OH, It had black frost early in October that the axe couldn't chop the ground. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. B30, A frost that kills plants) 98 Infs, chiefly NEast, Gt Lakes, C and S Atl, CA, Black frost. [Of all Infs responding to the .

71% were

question.

old:

of those giving this response,

83% were

.

,

old.]

=black sea bass, chiefly Mid and C Atl 1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 16.533, SferranusJ atrarius Black Fish; Black Sea Bass. 1887Goode/lwer. Fishes39, The Sea Bass is also known south of Cape Hatteras as the "Blackfish." 1896 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 47.1199, Centropristes striatus Blackfish. 1906 NJ State Museum Annual Rept. for 1905 308, Centropristes striatus Black Fish. 1939 Natl. Geog. Soc. Fishes 84, The common sea bass, which is known almost always as blackfish in the southern states, ranges from Massachusetts to the Atlantic coast of Florida. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. P2) Infs NC12, Blackfish or black bass; SC4, 21, 63, 66, 69, Blackfish. 1970 DARE Tape VA 112. 1976 Warner Beautiful Swimmers 134 Chesapeake Bay, He diversifies, making strong rectangular pots for the ocean capture of "blackfish" or sea bass, as 2

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

practiced in the Carolinas.

3 The Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis). 1870 Dall Alaska 579, Blackfish. 1933 John G. Shedd Aquarium Guide 56, Dallia pectoralis The Blackfish is the sole representative of .

its

.

1981 Tabbert Alaskan Engl. 32 1 Blackfish

family.

,

— (Dallia pecto-

•black frost

By

1

(Qu. B30)

weather not cold enough to kill vegetation. Sth 1965-70 DARE (Qu. B29, A frost that does not kill plants) 10 Infs,

2

ralis).

ext: freezing

chiefly

4 =cobia. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. PI 4) Inf NC27, Covia no commercial market now.

['kouvija] or blackfish

—

1949 Caine N. Amer. Sport Fish 132, Mudfish

Colloquial Names. 1965-68 DARE (Qu. PI, Freshwater fish GA19, Blackfish, mudfish— same; GA25, Blackfish; GA34, Blackfish— we call 'em mudfish; NC24, SC26, Blackfish; (Qu. P3, Freshwater fish not good to eat) Infs AL 17, FL18, GA65, .

.

.

Bowfin. good to eat) Inf

Blackfish, .

.

NCI 5,

.

.

.

.

.

49, Blackfish.

An

fly

n chiefly NEast

insect of the family Simuliidae.

Also called black gnat,

buffalo gnat, midge, stinging gnat, turkey gnat

1776

in

1932

MD Hist.

Mag. 27.258,

Bit very

much

with black

flies,

1875 Fur, Fin & Feather Sept 139 (OEDS), At Calais, Maine, last fall rugged grouse were thick as black flies in August. 1937 Torreya 37.79 NY, We recommend an ample supply of "fly dope," to keep off black flies and mosquitoes. 1946 Outdoors June 23/2 (DA), There is no place under God's heavens where the black flies are so numerous and so enthusiastic, and so hungry, as round-about a beaver bog. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. R10) 8 Infs, chiefly NEast, Black fly; (Qu. Rl 1) 32 Infs, chiefly NEast, Black fly (or flies); (Qu. R12) 20 Infs, chiefly NEast, Black fly; (Qu. R13) 15 Infs, east of Missip R, Black fly; (Qu. R2 ) Infs NY30, 92, 97, Black fly. 1966 DARE Tape FL32, These little old black flies, they get 'em [cattle] by the millions and they'll sting 'em day and night. .

.

.

.

1

.

Either the punkie or the black fly. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Black gnats

.

black French See frenching black Friday n

black goose n Perh the American brant (Branta bernicla), but cf niggergoose. 1967-69 Z).4/?£(Qu.Q6, Wild geese) Infs IL6,MD45,TX62, Black geese: (Qu.Q 10, Water birds and marsh birds)lnf\A79, Black geese. .

.

.

black grama n 1

A grama grass: usu Bouteloua eriopoda or B.

hirsuta, but also

B. gracilis.

1886 Havard Flora W. & S. TXfor 1885 528, Black Grama (B. hirsuta); hardly distinguishable from the last in appearance, and equally good. 1889 Vasey Ag. Grasses PI. 62, Bouteloua oligostachya, Gramma [sic] grass. Black gramma [sic]. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.104, Bouteloua

NM

Black grama grass. Neb. 1912 Wooton Grasses 100, In New Mexico "Black Grama" is Bouteloua hirsuta. Ibid 101, In south central and southwestern New Mexico Bouteloua eriopoda is known as Black Grama. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 117, B. hirsuta Black-grama. 1960 Correll Plants TX 247, Black grama Second glume often a dark-dull-purple. 1970 in 1983 Carleton Coll., Black grama Bouteloua eriopoda. SW USA. hirsuta

.

.

.

southeastern

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A galleta grass (here: Hilaria jamesii). 1906 Rydberg Hilaria Flora CO 20, Black Grama Jamesii Hillsides and gulches of the mesas. 1912 Wooton Grasses 100, In several of the earlier bulletins relating to the Western range grasses, Hilaria jamesii is referred to as "Black Grama." 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. G70, Galleta, sometimes referred to as black grama, is an erect perennial. .

.

Schilla Prairies 105 ND, Two church holidays stand These were Good Friday, or Black Friday "Karf[r]eitag," in German and Ascension Day. .

—

2

Friday.

1967 .

4 of 10 Infs Black]

5;

very small, vicious gnats, no-see-ums. 1965-70 DARE(Qu. Rl 1) 81 Infs, scattered, Black gnat; CA105, Black stinging gnat; (Qu. R10) Infs MI37, NY28, TN26, Black

.

out

types 4 and

black gnat n Also black stinging gnat

.

face in lumps.

Good

comm

gnat.

black flounder See blackback flounder black

of 10 Infs from

frost. [9

black fruitcake See black cake

5 =bowfin.

.

Black

—

.

—

.

.

NM

.

black frost n [black rt^ to the absence of snow or Christmas); see quot 1890] 1

A

(Cf black

.

Map somewhat

and

is

old-fash

1709 (1967) Lawson

New Voyage

159

NC, The

Blue-Fish

.

.

come

the Fall of the Year) generally after there has been one black Frost.

(in

1792 about

Imlay Western Terr. 467 NY, The severe weather generally sets in December, with sharp cold, black frosts, and falls of snow. 1 842 S Lit. Messenger 8.467/1 nTX, The weather was very cold,

the beginning of

and we had generally black

frosts.

1890

DN

1.69

.

.

A muhly grass (here: Muhlenbergia porteri). 1912 Wooton Grasses 100, In a recent bulletin on The Grazing Ranges of Arizona Professor Thornber refers to Muhlenbergia porteri as "Black Grama." 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. G82, Bush

3

usu unaccompanied chiefly NEast, Gt Lakes, C and S Atl, CA See

frost or cold that kills vegetation

by hoarfrost,

frost

.

.

LA, Black frost: a

NM

muhly

...

is

frequently called black

grama

in grazing literature, al-

though it is neither a grama nor a close relative of the grama grasses. 1950 Hitchcock Manual Grasses 401, Bush muhly Known also as mesquite grass and black grama. .

black grass

n, also attrib

The black rush (Juncus

gerardii).

.

.

black grasset

gum

black

/

262

1782 Crevecoeur Letters 159 seMA, The best mowing grounds in the 1872 Scheie de Vere Americanisms 408, Salt-Hay, a very important product of salt-marshes, 1912 Baker is of two principal sorts, called salt-grass and black-grass. Book of Grasses 332, Black-grass (Juncus Gerardi), easily recognized by island, yielding four tons of black grass per acre.

its

characteristic dark-green colour,

blooms

in

midsummer and

com-

is

mon along the Atlantic coast and by tidal waters of rivers from Canada to 1945 Beck Jersey Genesis 112, Black grass, called juncus an in-between, neither salt nor upland hay, and always finds a market for fodder. 1968 DARE (Qu. L9b) Inf NJ53, Black grass hay. Florida. gerardi,

is

black grasset n =kingbird. 1917 DN A All LA, Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

1966-70 ground. ground.

.

.

Black Grasset.

.

Used by

.

frivolous

.

Black black

.

.

.

.

.

.

As

adj.

Characterized by abusive or obscene language, chiefly S Midi 1806 (1905) Clark Orig. Ms. Lewis & Clark Exped. 3.344, The Indians inform us that they Speak the Same language with ourselves, and gave us proofs of their varacity by repeating maney blackguard phrasses. 1855 (1968) Whitman Leaves of Grass 36, At he-festivals with blackguard jibes and ironical license and bull-dances and drinking and laughter. 1927 DN 5.473 Ozarks, Blackguard talk Obscene language, smutty anecdote. "I'm agin this hyar blackguard talk right in th' church-house." 1939 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 52.63 cNJ, Broad songs such as most singers give only after a few drinks are called 'blackguard' songs. 1953 Randolph Down in Holler 227 Ozarks, Blackguard The adjec.

.

.

.

.

.

2 Either of two fish of the genus Epinephelus: the

warsaw

grouper or the spotted jewfish. Grouper Amer. Fishes

.

.

49, The Black Grouper, Epinephelus nigritus. 1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 206, The giants among our Louisiana food fishes are the Jewfishes, also called Black Groupers ... the Spotted Jewfish, Promicrops itaiara. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 45, Black Grouper. Promicrops itaiara Names: Spotted Jewfish Ibid 57, Garrupa nigrita Black Grouper.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

=tripletail.

1815 Lit. & Philos. Soc. NY Trans. 1.419, Some of the fishermen call him [Bodianus triouras] black grunts. 1906 NJ State Museum Annual Black Grunt. 1933 LA Rept. for 1905 313, Lobotes surinamensis Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 206, Elsewhere this species [Lobotes surinaBlack Grunt. mensis] has been called .

.

.

.

plumieri, H. macrosto-

.

.

—

.

1

blackguarding vbl n, also attrib [blackguard C2] chiefly S Midi Vulgar or coarse talk; cursing. 1935 Yale Rev. 25.183 KY, That church out there is about the worst place I know of to go so much blackguardin' out around it and boys lookin' in at the winders. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Blackguardin' is talking ugly.

1966 Wilson

Coll.

csKY, Blackguarding

.

Using nasty

.

.

words.

blackguarding ppl adj chiefly S Midi 1 Obscene.

Down in Holler 227 Ozarks, One of my foul-mouthed was described as "the blackguardin 'est feller that ever set foot in town." 1969 DARE FW Addit cwNC, Blackguardin' tales— dirty

1953 Randolph visitors

stories.

2 See quot.

1966 Wilson

Coll.

csKY, Blackguarding

.

.

.

Dishonest.

black gull n

.

in

1917 £W 4.408 1923 DN 5.201 Variant of blackguard. wNC, KY, Blackgyard. swMO, Blaggard. 1949 AmSp 24.106 neGA, Blackguard drunk cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Blackguard ['bkega-d]. ['blaekfijaiad]. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. Y3) Inf IL135, Blackguard; NJ9, ['blaigard]; NY96, ['blaegard]; PA214, ['blaigard]; NJ3, ['blsekgardirj].

DN 2.229 sIL, Blaggard [blaegard or bkegeard]. .

=black

tern.

1932 Bennitt Check-list 34, Black tern Formerly, Black gull and probably still, t/[ncommon] 5|ummer] Resident] in central and .

.

.

.

.

gum

n

.

1

also

swamp blackgum: A

tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica).

See quots. 1930 £W6.86 cWV, Blackguard, a foul-mouthed person; an excessive user of profanity. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Blackguard ... A person

who talks obscenely, C As verb.

.

northern Missouri.

black

B As noun.

To

Drunk to the point of

.

blackguard n, v, adj, adv |'blaeg3(r)d, 'blae(k)gard, 'blaigard|; Midi also |'bl£e(k)gja(r)d| Pronc-spp blackgyard, blaggard A Forms.

1

.

viciousness.

this

Black 1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Proc. 5.603, Diabasis plumieri Grunt. 1933 John G. Shedd Aquarium Guide 108, Hxmulon bonarBlack Grunt. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 64, Hxiense Ibid 66, Hsemulon pluBlack Grunt. mulon macrostomum Black Grunt. mieri

1902

.

common.

See quot. 1 949 A mSp 24. 06 neGA, Blackguard drunk

.

Any of several grunts, esp Hsemulon mum, and H. bonariense. 2

.

is

—

black grunt n 1

tive

E As adv.

Museum

Proc. for 1878 1.182 FL, SC, The Black (Epinephelus nigritus) of the Southern Coast. 1887 Goode

1879 U.S. Natl.

whites as a

illiterate

manner, even though

the conversation be perfectly chaste. This class of people speaks of the

D

DARE (Qu. C30) Infs DEI, IL126, OH31, SD2, 1970 DARE Tape IL126, This soil here is primarily

1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Proc. 5.273, Trisotropis stomias Black grouper. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 49, Black Grouper Myctoperca bonaci. Saltwater 1966 DARE (Qu. P2, good to eat) Inf FL24, Black grouper. fish .

3 See quot. ?obs 1893 Shands MS Speech, Blackguard verb meaning to laugh and talk in a gay,

ordinary small talk of a sociable or reception as blackguarding.

soil.

black grouper n 1 A grouper (here: Myctoperca bonaci). Also called black rockfish, gray grouper, jewfish, long-boned rockfish, warsaw

.

'

.

.

black ground n Cfblackland Loose, dark

2 To talk obscenely; to curse or swear (at), chiefly S Midi 1902 DN 2.229 sIL, Blaggard ... To use obscene language, to talk obscenely. 1907 DN 3.220 nwAR,sIL. 1927 DN 5.473 Ozarks. 1949 Hornsby Lonesome Valley 82 KY, When he's full of moonshine he 1954 Harder Coll. cusses and blackguards something scandalous. cwTN, Blackguard ... To talk obscenely. "I ain't a-goin' set there and let that ol' son-of-a-bitch blackguard 'fore ye." 1966 DARE(Q\i. NN 1 6, ") Infs GA3, Swearing or using obscene language: 'He 's always 1976 Garber Mountain-ese 9, He wuz ex7, MS71, Blackguarding. pelled from school fer blackgardin' the teacher.

especially in the presence of

women.

slander or abuse verbally; to talk in scurrilous terms about

(someone or something). 1950 (1965) Richter Town 30 OH, The new Moonshine Church Weekly Centinel blackguarded Tateville and the Western Repository Gazette of Tateville ran down Moonshine Church. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. Y3, To say uncomplimentary things about somebody) Infs IL135, NJ9, NY96, PA214, Blackguard;" NJ3, Blackguarding.

•black

gum

1

+

var

(Qq. T15, T16)

chiefly

black hand

263

Sth,

S Midi See Map Also

tree,

hornbeam, pepperidge, snag

called bee

gum, beetlebung, gum-

sourgum, swamp tupelo,

tree,

water tupelo, yellow gum 1709 (1967) Lawson New Voyage 102 NC, Of the Black Gum there The one bears a black, well-tasted grows, with us, two sorts The Bears crop these Trees for the Berries, which they mightily Bern 1785 (1925) Washington Diaries 2.346 VA, Planted all covet. Blackgums in my Serpentine Walks. 1835 Ingraham South- West the bordered with noble forests of oak, 2.79, A fine though dusty road black gum. 1869 Amer. Naturalist 2.122, When mast is not plenty, they [=bears] lap black-gum berries. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 32, Chestand black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) are common. 1941 Walker nut Lookout 66 TN, The blackgum or tupelo, is a common tree ... In pioneer days, the fruit of the larger kind was employed as a substitute for olives. cl945 Hopkins Okefenokee 50 (DA), This fire killed forty to fifty million feet of Swamp black gum. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T15) 93 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, Black gum; (Qu. T16) Infs AR41, DC2, PA 169, .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

gum

2 =white

tree.

most prevalent

western US.

in the

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 215, Crataegus douglasii ComBlack Haw (Mont.). 1917 ( 1923) Rogers Trees Worth Knowing 158, In the West the black haw is a round-headed native tree found from Puget Sound southward through California and eastward to Colorado and New Mexico. 1956 St. John Flora SE WA 195, Black Hawthorn. Erect, compact shrub, occasionally a tree up to 12 m. tall. 1972 Viereck A K Trees 172, Black Hawthorn Fruits like small apple

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 55, Abies concolor

black hand n [black

.

Gum

Black

.

+

hand n B]

witchcraft spell, a charm.

.

.

.

[sic]

.

.

,

black hare n

shiny black

.

.

.

palustris palustris

hawk n =rough-legged hawk.

1

1812 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 6.82, Black Hawk. Falco Sancti Jois found most frequently along the marshy shores of our large rivers The Black Hawk is a native of North America alone. 1870 Amer. Naturalist 3.228, The Black-hawk, by some supposed to be only a darker race of this species [=rough-legged buzzard], and once hannis 1 ...

.

.

.

.

.

met with, is now unknown [in New England]. Q4) 12 Infs, scattered, Black hawk. 2 Any of several other dark-colored hawks, such as Harris's hawk, Mexican black hawk, Swainson's hawk, or a subsp of red-tailed hawk, all native chiefly to the West and Southwest.

DARE (Qu.

1965-70

1858 Baird Birds 22. Buteo calurus Red-tailed Black Hawk To would present somewhat the appearance of the black hawk of the United States, Archibuteo sanctijohannis, with the tail attached of the common red-tailed buzzard, Buteo borealis. 1944 Hausman Amer. Birds 516, Hawk. Black see Hawk, Rough-legged: see also Hawk. Swainson's. 1946 Goodrich Birds in KS 316. Colloquial .

.

.

.

38.373 Okefinokee, Sylvilagus Mizell's only name for it is 'Black Hare.'

Hist. Proc.

Sam

Lit.

NY

Philos. Soc.

Trans. 416, Black harry, hanna-

and blue-fish, are some of the names by which he [the black sea known. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 39, In the Middle [Atlantic] States the Sea Bass is called "Black Will," "Black Harry," and "Hannahills." 1946 LaMonte A'. Amer. Game Fishes 48, Centropristes is

Black Harry.

haw n

Pronc-sp black haul viburnum, such as Viburnum lentago or V. rufidulum, but esp V. prunifolium. esp Sth, S Midi V. prunifolium is also called alisier, arrowwood a, boots, cramp bark, nannyberry, sheepberry, shonny, sloe, stagbush, sweet haw 1709 (1967) Lawson New Voyage 12 NC, A slender tree bears the black Haw, which People eat, and the Birds covet also. 1818 in 1821 Schoolcraft Jrl. 2 MO, Our approach to a warmer climate is further indicated by several green plants and particularly by the black haw, which we have this day found in great perfection. 1899 Garland BoyLife 123 nwIA, All things not positively poisonous were eaten or at least tasted. The roots of ferns, black haws, choke-berries, May-apples. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 743, The bark is used in medicine [as] "black-haw bark." 1945 Saxon Gumbo Ya-Ya 547 LA, Water-finding 1

A

1

.

.

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

rods are either willow or forked sticks of peach, black haw, or witch1965-70 (Qu. T16) 10 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midi, Black haw; (Qu. 143) Inf M09, Black haws; (Qu. 144) Infs AR52, IN3. KY5. .

.

DARE

hazel.

PA234, SC57, Black haws; TX26, Black hauls; (Qu. 146) Infs LA2, M038, VA42, Black haw. 1976 Bruce How to Grow Wild/lowers 130, Five species comprise the purely American section Lentago: Nanny-

V

berry,

lentago; Black-haw, V. prunifolium; Southern Black-haw, V.

V. cassinoides; Smooth Withe-rod, V. nudum. buckthorn, 2 usu Bumelia lanuginosa or B. tenax. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 318, Bumelia tenax Common Names. Black Haw (Fla.) Bumelia lanuginosa Common Names Black Haw (Fla.). 1913 Torreya 13.233, Bumelia lanuginosa. Black haw, Cameron, La. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 1034, B lanuginosa Black-haw The yellow or light-brown heart-wood is close-grained, but rather soft B. tenax Black-haw The light-brown and white-streaked heart-wood is hard and close-grained. 1960 Vines Trees SW 833, B. lanuginosa Vernacular names are Chittamwood, False-buckthorn, and Blackhaw. The black fruit is edible, but not tasty. 1976 Bailey - Bailey Hortus Third 190, Blackhaw. Deciduous tree, to 45 ft. Va. to Fla., w. to Kans., Tex., n. Mex. 3 also black hawthorn: A blackfruited hawthorn (Crataegus

rufidulum; Withe-rod,

A

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

Hawk,

.

black

.

.

.

Common name

.

.

.

Hawk,

American

NM

1961 Ligon Birds 71, Buteogallus anthracinus The Black Hawk is one of the two nesting Hawks with distribution confined to the southwest part of .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

blackhead n 1 also blackhead duck: Any of var scaups: lesser scaup, greater scaup, ring-necked duck.

al782 ( 1 788) Jefferson Notes VA 77, Black head. 1848 Knickerbocker 32.33 1 MD, Good enough duck, for the matter of that, seeing it be but a black-head. 1852 Stansbury Expedition 324, Little Black-head; Shuffler. Found across the continent: very common throughout the interior. 1874 Coues Birds 573, I frequently saw Black heads in Dakota and Montana, especially during the migrations. 1 888 Trumbull Names of Birds 55, Aythya marila At the mouth of the Susquehanna, very commonly on the Chesapeake, by some at Cape May C.H., at Eastville and Cobb's Island, Va., and at Charleston, S.C., Blackhead I have heard the term "black-head" as far south as St. Augustine. 1933 Sun (Baltimore MD) 1 2 Dec 22/2 - 3 (Hench Coll.), He killed a ring-necked or black-head duck yesterday. 1954 Sprunt FL Bird Life 75, Ring-necked Duck: Aythya collaris Local Names: Blackhead. Ibid 78, Greater Scaup Duck: Aythya marila Local Names: Blackhead. Ibid 79. Lesser Scaup Duck: Aythya affinis Local Names: Blackhead. 1955 Audubon 39.315, Ring-necked Duck. Blackhead (Mass. Lumped with the scaups under this name, the Ringneck justifies the application by the adult male's black head with metallic reflections.). Ibid 316, Lesser Scaup Duck. Blackhead (All along the 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Q5) 14 Infs, chiefly C and Mid Atl, coast ). Black-head duck; VA70, Black-headed duck.

NW

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

MA

.

.

2 =black-bellied plover. 1955 MA Audubon 39.445, Blackhead (Mass. The lower surface of the head is black in adults, but the crown and nape are not black in any normal plumage.) 3 See black vulture.

4

A sedge (here: Carex sitchensis). 1923 in 1925 Jepson Manual

Plants

CA

CfarexJ

187,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black hawthorn See black haw 3

&

hills,

black

.

the state.

=black sea bass. 1814 in 1825

.

.

a casual observer this bird

.

.

.

rough-legged; hawk, Harris's: hawk, western red-tailed.

black harry n

.

.

thick light yellow flesh.

black

Name

rabbit.

1927 Boston Soc. Nat.

striatus

.

.

.

1928 Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 101 SC [Gullah], Maybe she could get Daddy Cudjoe to put a black hand on Cinder that would get the wicked slut out of July's way. Ibid 122, 1 got to make a charm to fight a charm. Black hand is got to squeeze black hand.

bass]

.

.

mon Names

occasionally to be

fir.

(Utah).

=marsh

Also called black

thorn, river hawthorn

.

Black

A

douglasii)

blackhead

/

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

sitchensis

.

.

Blackheads.

5 A cattail 1 (here: Typha latifolia). 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 13, Black Heads: Typha

latifolia.

.

A

coneflower (here: Rudbeckia occidentalis). 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific head RfudbeckiaJ occidentalis.

6

NW

.

.

543,

.

7 See black-headed gull.

.

8 See quot. [Prob infl by thunderhead] 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Blackhead Black raincloud. .

.

.

Black

,

blackhead duck

264

black iron

/

blackhead duck See blackhead

1

black-headed buzzard n =black vulture. Birds 1955 Forbush-May

Black

95,

Vulture

.

.

.

Other

gourdseed sucker, Missouri sucker, shoenaher, suckerel, sweet sucker 1842 DeKay Zool. NY 4.203, Catostomus elongatus. The Missouri 1920 Forbes -Richardson Sucker, Black Horse and Black Buffalo. Fishes of IL 65, Cycleptus elongatus Black-horse. 1934 Vines Green Thicket 4 cnAL, He told her of the many red horses and black horses and salmon trout, red suckers and black suckers, buffaloes and drums, blue cats and yellow cats, he had caught. 1969 DARE (Qu. Freshwater fish good to eat) Inf AR56, Black horse. PI, .

names:

.

.

Black-headed buzzard.

black-headed

gull

n Also blackhead, black-headed mackerel

gull

=laughing

(Larus atricilla). 1814 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 9.90, The Black-headed Gull is the most beautiful and most sociable of its genus. 1870 Amer. Naturalist 3.234, The Black-headed Gull, a Southern and somewhat rare species. 1925 Other names: Black(1928) Forbush Birds MA 1.82, Larus atricilla headed gull; Black-head; Black-headed mackerel gull. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. Q10) Infs NCI, VA47, Black-headed gull. gull

.

.

black-headed vulture See black vulture

black-headed woodpecker n Prob the red-cockaded woodpecker. 1966-67

DARE

(Qu. Q17) Infs FL39, NJ3, NC15, Black-headed

P7) Inf SC45, Blackhead minnows.

blackheart n 1 =red-backed sandpiper. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 181, Black-heart [Pelidna alpinaj. 1955 MA Audubon 39.19, Red-backed Sandpiper ... Black-heart (Mass. From the large black spots on the lower sides of the male in breeding plumage.).

2 =black-bellied plover.

1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.68, Black-bellied Plover (Squablackheart Vernacular Names In local use 1925 (1928) Forbush Birds MA 1.459, Squatarola squatar(Mass.). Black-heart. 1955 MA Audubon 39.445, Other names: ola. Black-heart (Mass. All of the under surface, Black-bellied Plover tarola squatarola)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

except the belly,

is

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black in adults.).

3 ^whortleberry. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 386, VfacciniumJ Myrtillus

.

.

Black-heart.

Any

of var smartweeds. black heart, So. 1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.97, Polygonum Persicaria Vt. 1898 Ibid 11.278, Polygonum Pennsylvanicum .. black heart, BlackKans. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 300, Polygonum] Persicaria heart. 1966 DARE Wildfl QR P1.47a Inf NC28, Blackheart.

4

.

.

.

5 A mean or ill-tempered person. "He's an awful 1968 DARE (Qu. GG38, .

")

.

Inf

VA31,

blackheart cherry n

Perh the sweet cherry (Prunus avium). al883 ( 9 ) Bagby VA Gentleman 258, He dare not shave both ways, 1

1 1

does he leaves

my

face as bloody as a black-heart cherry, just

skinned.

Black

Hills

.

OEDS A smooth layer of ice which forms on still water and which is

black ice n Cf 1

transparent, giving

it

a dark appearance,

AN&Q 4.

52/1 nNEng, "Black ice," coming in the late fall with when the ice has not been defaced by snow, is a much more delightful phenomenon [than "slush"]. 1955 Adams Grandfather 174 NY (as of 1 830s), That was the iron-hard winter of 826, when the black ice held on all waters from Lake Ontario to Chesapeake Bay. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. B34, When a pond or lake becomes entirely covered with ice,

1944

1

early freezes

—

you say it is good for skating; CT25, Black ) Inf CT6, Black ice ice. 1979 DARE File, [23 letters received chiefly from the Northeastern

white spruce (here: Picea glauca). 1966-68 DARE (Qu. T5) Infs CT2, MN7, 38, SD2, 3, Black Hill White spruce, spruce. 1973 Stephens Woody Plants 2, Picea glauca This is an attractive tree and Canadian spruce, Black Hills spruce .

.

.

Ibid seNY, Black ice is what forms on ponds or lakes when the temperature drops very low very fast and there is no wind. This forms ice that is clear rather than white. It is a marvelous sensation to skate on it because you can look down into the depths of the water (which appears very dark, if not black) and even see fish swimming beneath your feet!

2 By ext: smooth, clear ice that forms on pavement allowing the dark road-surface to show through, making the ice virtually invisible and very dangerous for driving, chiefly NEast, Rocky Mts and Pacific, esp WA, OR 1967 DARE (Qu. N22, When a road that is surfaced with smooth pavement gets wet so that cars slip or skid on it, you say it 's ) Inf

—

ice frozen. 1973 Inyo Reg. (Bishop CA) 18 Jan 1, Residents again faced hazardous driving when crystal-clear Wednesday morning skies and colder temperatures froze sheets of black ice on streets and highways. 1979 DARE File Pacific NW, "Black ice" is a hazardous road condition which develops when the temperatures drop into the 28° -32° range accompanied by a heavy fog, light mist or light drizzle. This causes the pores of the asphalt pavement to fill with ice. I've always

OR1, Black

assumed it was called black ice because you can't see it. The term is used in TV and radio weather forecasts, which I guess puts a sort of an official stamp of approval on it. 1979-80 DARE File, [78 letters received chiefly from the Northeast, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific states in

.

.

.

often covers a hillside in the Black Hills, the conical tops forming a

geometric pattern.

3 Among mountain climbers: see quot. 1979 DARE File NY, As an old mountaineer, I would like to explain that in mountain climbing we refer to "black ice" when we may encounter ice attached to the rock which has not melted for years and has actually acquired a black color. It is so hard that it sometimes cannot be chipped with an icepick and extremely slippery and hence, dangerous. Black ice is anathema to the mountain climber.

A black duck (here: Anas rubripes). In 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.9, Vernacular Names general shortened mallard, often use. Black duck, black Black to blackie. 1932 Bennitt Check-list 1 8 MO, Anas rubripes mallard; dusky duck; blackie. 1951 Pough Audubon Water Bird 320, Blackie. See Black duck. 1982 Elman Hunter's Field Guide 143, Black Duck Common & Regional Names: black, blackie. 1

.

—

.

.

.

.

blackhood n

.

Harris's sparrow.

1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 333, Harris's sparrow— Zonotrichia querBlackhood. Other Names. ula

nacular

—

.

A

N Cent, esp MI

large, dark-colored wasp such as the bald-faced hornet or the

mud dauber

1.

N

Cent, esp MI, Black (Qu. R21) 16 Infs, chiefly hornet. Black MI36, 47, Infs IL4, hornet(s); (Qu. R20)

1965-70

DARE

black horse n

A

dark-colored sucker (Catostomus elongatus).

Also called

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 =ring-necked duck. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular

black hornet n chiefly

"A

response to the published query: "What is 'black ice'?" typically said: of ice that forms on a hard-surfaced road."]

blackie n

spruce n Also Black Hill spruce

A

.

NEast, esp

chiefly

NEng

thin, transparent sheet

Blackheart.

for if he

.

U.S. in response to the published query "What is 'black ice'?" typically said: "A smooth, transparent layer of ice that forms on a lake or pond."]

blackhead minnow n =fathead minnow.

DARE (Qu.

.

.

1

woodpecker.

1967

.

.

Names

.

.

.

In local use

.

.

.

13. 21,

Ring-necked Duck

.

Ver-

Blackie (Tex.).

3 The black bear (Ursus americanus). 1982 Elman Hunter's Field Guide 557, Black Bear Regional Names: bruin, blackie.

black iron n chiefly Sth A simple heavy-metal device which

is

.

.

.

Common &

heated and used to press

clothes; a flatiron.

1965-67 DARE (Qu. F29, Different kinds of irons— not electricused around herefor smoothing clothes after they 're washed) Infs MS5 5

.

blackjack

265

SC42, Black iron. 1967 LeCompte Word Atlas 134 LA, Device, not electric, to smooth clothes after washing ... [3 of 21 informants said] black iron.

areas.

Names of Birds

60, Ring-necked

Duck

... In

Putnam

Black-jack; this being heard also at Chicago, though less commonly; and Mr. J. P. Leach, of Rushville, 111., writes that this name is 111.,

1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. In Circular 13.18, Scaup Ducks Collective Vernacular Names Verblackjacks (Calif). Ibid2\, Ring-necked Duck local use. nacular Names In local use. blackjack (111., Iowa, Mo., Ky., Ark., La., Tex., Calif.). 1940 Gabrielson Birds OR 154, Ring-necked More discriminating sportsmen, particularly those who have Duck shot in the Midwest, use the name "Black-jack" for this species, the name commonly given it along the Mississippi. 1966-69 (Qu. Q5)InfsCA136, IA22, 29, LA22, MS53, M017,NY219, SC40, Black"generally applied along the Illinois River." .

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

DARE

jack; (Qu.

Blackjack

Q9) Inf CA140, Blackjack.

MA

— small, black, might

Addit cwLA,

feet.

DARE (Qu.

Q5) Inf OKI 8, Butter

also be called blackjacks.

—

.

A

pi:

usu

level,

Rheumatism

— Carry three black-

jacket.

Q. nigra) or Emory oak (Q. emoryi). 1765 (1942) Bartram Diary of a Journey 31 July 17/1, Ye oaks black which is reconed ye best fire wood they have they call them black Jacks seldom grow above A foot diameter very scruby & of good use for timber for boats. 1879 ( 1 880) Tourgee Fool's Errand 15, The wide fireplace, in which the dry hickory and black-jack was blazing brightly. 1903 Cosmopolitan 34.633, A little town five miles off the railroad down in the 2.416 nwAR, Black 1904 black-jack country of Arkansas. Black oak. 'Bring me a rick of black jack.' 1941 Walker jack Lookout 64 TN, The lowest in commercial value, known as the common 1946 Reader's Digest 48.93/1, He black jack, finds a use for fuel. started off through Texas blackjack oaks. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Blackjack Scrub Oak ( Quercus marilandica) a very common tree on the thin-soiled ridges, and worthless except for wood. "Why, that land won't grow nothing but blackjacks." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T10) 83 1975 Newell IfNothin Don 't Infs, chiefly S Midi, Sth, Blackjack oak. Happen 8 nwFL, Most of the trees was second-growth pine and scrub what we call blackjacks and turkey oaks. oaks

DN

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

'

—

2 See blackjack oak. scattered blackjack oaks.

1977 Yankee

for gingerbread.

blackjack oak n Also blackjack chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map An oak, esp Quercus marilandica, but also freq water oak (here:

.

A black duck (here: Anas rubripes). 1917 Wilson Bulletin 29.2.77, Anas rubripes. Black-jack, Hickman, Common Ky. 1982 Elman Hunter's Field Guide 143, Black Duck & Regional Names: black, blackie. blackjack.

c

3 usu

60,

name

black jacket n Cf blue jacket 2, yellow jacket A dark-colored wasp of the family Sphecidae such as the mud dauber 1. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. R21) Infs MS47, NC35, OK31, VA15, Black

.

Ruddy Duck. Other names:

1.280,

1966

Butter-ball; Black-jack [etc.].

duck

DARE FW

1967

— a kind of duck with black head and

b =ruddy duck. 1925 (1928) Forbush Birds

another

jack beans in your pocket. Colorado.

a The ring-necked duck and the lesser scaup which prefer freshwater areas, and the greater scaup which prefers saltwater

1888 Trumbull

black jaundice

Blackjack— Gingerbread.

14, is

blackjack bean n 1970 Anderson TX Folk Med.

blackjack n 1 Any of three similar ducks:

Co.,

ME

Lingo 1975 Gould Jan 73 csME, Black jack

/

open, sometimes grassy region with [By ext of blackjack (oak) which is

indigenous to the Sthn US] 1843 in 196 AmSp 36.293 cnSC, It is the natural outlet for most of the water that sometimes covers those vast plains, known in the up country 1

as the Blackjack,

from the

tree that constitutes their chief natural

production Except the comparatively level land, called the Blackjacks, our section of country is very broken. 1962 Atwood Vocab. TX The term blackjacks occurs a few 41 Land where scrubby oak grows times in Oklahoma. 1969 DARE (Qu. C33) Inf NC62, The blackjacks a poor soil area named after the blackjack oak tree. .

.

.

,

.

.

.

—

A hard candy made with molasses. 1886 Bates Old Salem 63 MA, A Black-jack is a generous stick of a dark and saccharine compound which combines a variety of flavors. In tasting Black-jack you imagine that you detect a hint of maple syrup, a trace of butter, a trifle of brown sugar and molasses, and a tiny fancy of the whole mixture's having been burnt on to the kettle This burnt flavor is intentional. 1977 Yankee Feb 21 NEng, Blackjacks are a close second in popularity [to Gibraltars]. These are slender round candy

4

.

.

.

.

.

sticks flavored with blackstrap molasses.

A

5 also attrib:

heavy dark

soil,

chiefly

.

.

Sth

.

.

.

.

64, Blackjack.

—

—

Cf mumblety-peg

moonshine. Cf applejack 1 (Qu. DD21c, Nicknames for whiskey,

DARE

made whiskey) Inf IL67, Blackjack. 9 Very strong coffee without cream or milk. 1950

WELS

strong).

jack

(Different words for coffee) 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo

— Coffee.

10 See quots.

.

Jack pine,

.

especially illegally

Cf DS H74a

Inf,

seWI, Blackjack (very

NEng

and Gt Lakes, Black-

1

.

Black pine. Black Jack pine.

SW

1960 Vines Trees 1 8, Ponderosa Pine Other vernacular names Yellow Pine. Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine [etc]. 1973 Hitchcock Cronquist Flora Pacific 62, Large tree up to 70 m. with bark at first dark brown or blackish but becoming very thick and changing to .

.

.

.

.

NW

cinnamon red

in old trees

.

.

blackjack, or bull p[ine]

.

.

PfinusJ ponder-

osa.

blackjack possum n 1 965 - 66 DARE (Qu. P3

sum

Illegal liquor;

1968

.

3 Prob =loblolly pine 1. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. T17)

shot.

1967Z)/l/?£(Qu. EE5. Games where you try to make ajackknife stick in the ground) Inf MN3, Blackjack.

8

as

.

2 =ponderosa pine. are

6 In marble play: see quot. 1969 DARE (Qu. EE6a, Names for different kinds of marbles the big one that 's used to knock others out ofthe ring) Inf GA77, Blackjack the name of the head taw man when no marbles went out of the ring at the 7 See quot.

known

also

.

[

.

.

first

=jack pine 1 Black Jack 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 30, Pinus divaricata Pine (Wis.). 1908 Britton N. Amer. Trees 44, It [=Pinus banksiana] is 1

1967 LeCompte Word Atlas 242 LA, Heavy black soil which tends to clod when wet and is very hard when dry 1 2 of 2 1 informants said] Blackjack. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. C30, Loose, dark soil) Inf LA20, Blackjack; SC29, Blackjack soil; (Qu. C31, Heavy, sticky soil) Infs

VA59,

blackjack pine n

1 )

Infs

Infs

VA8,

43. Blackjack pine.

G A MS60. Blackjack possum — pos1

,

with dark coloring.

blackjack steer n [blackjack 3] 1944

Adams Western

Words, Blackjack steer

— A scrawny

steer

from

the timbered country.

black jaundice n [From the association of "black" with death]

Cf black diphtheria

An

extreme case of jaundice.

black-jaw

/

black

man

266

1960 Taber Med. Diet., Jaundice j., black. J. to an extreme degree; 1969 DARE (Qu. BB49, Kinds of diseases) Inf TX62, .

.

.

icterus melas.

.

.

Black jaundice.

black lime tree n

A

linden, (here: Tilia

amerkana).

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 301, Tilia americana Common Names Black Limetree (Tenn.). 1930 Sievers^wer. Med. Plants 6, American Linden Other common names black lime tree. 1960 Vines Trees 733, It [Tilia americana] has many vernacular names .

black-jaw See black-cheek

.

such as

1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 386, The only known species is Garrupa nigrita, known as the black jewfish. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 49, Black Jewfish Garrupa nigrita.

—

A

attrib chiefly

TX, OK, AR,

heavy, loose, or sometimes sticky dark

MA

1803

commonly

LA

soil;

See

Map Cf

also countryside

soil.

Hist. Soc.

Coll.

ser 9.140,

1st

On

the low, or, what

is

timber is chiefly white and Norway and hemlock. 1860 Charleston (S.C.) Mercury 27 Nov 4/2 (DA), I hear from the 'black-land' counties that nearly every man is for Secession. 1910 Sat. Eve. Post 8 Oct 10/3 MO, John Simmons lived on a black-land farm in central Missouri. 1939 Sun (Baltimore MD) 26 June 14/2 cMS (Hench Coll.), That motorists might drive through the delta country, engineers had to subexcavate along the right-of-way and import sandy loam material for insulation against the soft, rich blackcalled, black land, the

pine, spruce,

DARE (Qu. C30, Loose, dark soil) 16 Infs, BlackInfsTX];(Qu.C31, Heavy, sticky soil)lnk AR53, 55, LAI 1, 20, OK21, 25, TX2, 40, Blackland. 1971 Green Last Trail Drive 52 ncTX, We were in the blackland. 1965-70

lands.

land

[ 1

.

.

.

.

SW

=warsaw grouper.

blackland n, also black ground

.

.

.

black jewfish n

which has such

.

.

1

.

.

.

Blacklime-tree.

black locust n Either of two trees: the honey locust 1 (here: Gleditsia triacanthos) or Robinia pseudoacacia, the latter also called green locust, honey locust 2, post locust, red locust, silver chain, silver locust, sweet locust 2, white locust, yellow locust 1. See also

shipmast locust 1787 Amer. Acad. Arts

&

Sci. Memoirs 2.157, The Black Loinches to two feet and a half in diameter. 1901 Mohr Plant Life AL 77, On its flanks [=Lookout Mt.] the black locust (Robinia pseudacacia) is found, one of the few localities in Alabama where it can be considered to be indigenous. 1945 Prairie Farmer 22 Dec. 4/ 1 (DA), Honey locusts are harmless but the common or black

cust

.

grows from

.

locust tree

six

responsible for

is

DARE (Qu.

M022, NE6, NH5,

many cases of animal

1967-70

poisoning.

Black locust; (Qu. T9) Infs AR41, OK52, Black locust; (Qu. 153) Inf LA2, Black locust

T16) 39

Infs, scattered,

pods.

.

.

black mallard n Also black mallard duck

A

Anas rubripes). Names of Birds 17, Black Duck

black duck (here:

1888 Trumbull

As we move

...

westward, and farther south, we hear Black Mallard. 1903 in 1951 Kumlien-Hollister Birds Wl 12, Anas obscura rubripes This is the common form of the "black mallard" which is shot in Wisconsin during the fall flight. 1913 Bailey Birds VA 22, Black Duck. [Black Mallard. Dusky Duck]. 1954 Sprunt FL Bird Life 61, Sportsmen and others insist on calling it "Black Mallard." It is definitely not a mallard Certainly, it bears no resemblance to that species. Nor, indeed, is it a black bird.' 1962 Imhof AL Birds 125, Black Duck Other Name: Black Mallard. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Q5) Infs DE3,GA25, LA31, MHO, 42, VA75, WI12, Black mallard; VA43, Black mallard duck. .

.

.

.

.

black-mammy n

[Prob black

.

.

.

+ mammy folk-etym for mummy see OED mummy sb. 2d]

brown bituminous pigment;

a

.

1

A

tar-like substance used to repair small leaks in a boat. 1968 DARE (Qu. 06, If a wooden boat is leaking, what do you have to sort of a tar do to stop the leaks?) Inf NC54, Put black-mammy on it you can buy.

—

man An evil

black 1

black lark n Cf brown lark

Perh the American pipit. 1970 DARE(Qu. Ql 5, Different kinds oflarks) Inf NJ67, Black lark. .

.

black laurel n

=loblollybay

1

.

.

.

1

lasianthus, the Loblolly-bay (also called Tan-bay, Black-laurel, and,

An

evergreen shrub (Leucothoe davisiae) found chiefly in Also called Sierra laurel

California.

occurs in the 1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101.131, Black laurel Nevada of California; while sometimes both local and rare, it is .

Very small quantities will and abundant in other places poison sheep. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. B92, The The origin of the common name, blacklaurel, is somewhat obscure .

.

.

.

.

(Azalea occidentalis), also frequently called laurel.

blacklegs n =coot n 1. 1

DARE (Qu.

692

Sth,

Blacklegs.

S Midi

in

DN

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A

2 also black man 's base: children's outdoor game: see quot 1953. chiefly Cent, Cent See Map Cf black Tom

N

DN

1895

1.398 IL, IA, PA,

variously as king

and

.

.

A common game among boys is known

blackman.

1915

DN

4.181

swVA, Black-

man A kind of game among boys. 1953 Brewster A mer. Nonsinging Games 56 IN, Black Man This game is played by six or more .

.

.

.

whom

.

.

men." The others have two safety on which they cannot be caught. If they run between the bases, however, they can be caught and then they too become "black men." The "black man" must pat each captive three times on the back. The first two players caught are "black men" for the next game. 1964 Wallace Frontier Life 47 OK, Each day at school brought new adventures, catching my opponents in a strenuous game of "Blackman." 1965-70 DARE (Qu. EE26) Infs CA105, IL11, 126, OKI, PA22 Black man; (Qu. EE33) 26 Infs, chiefly N Cent, Cent, Black man; youngsters, two of bases,

.

Q9) Inf DC8,

common

1914 Burr Narr. Witchcraft 1 59 MA, The afflicted persons said, 4.180 Man whispered to her in the Assembly. 1915 swVA, Bad-man The devil. Also, black-man. 1939 AmSp 14.268 IN, Terms referring to the Devil: 'the Black Man,' and 'old Ned.' 1943 LANE Map 533 scattered throughout NEng, Names for a particular demon invoked to frighten children, in most cases more or less clearly identified with the devil the bad man, the black man. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Black Man ... The Devil. 1966-68 DARE (Qu. EE41, A hobgoblin that is used to threaten children and make them behave) Infs AL6, 10, CA 105, IN 14, Black man. 1971 Wood Vocab. Change ISSth, Some parents threaten a child with a supernatural creature who will get him if he does not mind. The common word is boogerman Scattered instances occur of black man. 1

.

name blacklaurel probably originated because of the black stems or possibly the dark green leaves of this species, which are a decided contrast to the rather paler stems and the light-colored leaves of western azalea

1966

esp

the Black

.

Sierra

plentiful

devil,

.

erroneously, Red-bay).

2

boogeyman, and EDD

.

1. .

.

adj

.

Black 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 273, Gordonia lasianthus Laurel (N.C.). 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 877, BlackNon-alluvial swamps and bays, often in acid soil, Coastal laurel Plain, Fla. to La. and N.C. 1953 Greene -Blomquist Flowers South 74, Black-Laurel ... A small to fairly good-sized tree growing in borders of swamps and bays. 1 976 Bruce How to Grow Wildflowers 44, Gordonia .

Cf black

n spirit,

1

,

.

are "black

black mangrove

267

InfOH66, Black man's base. 1969 Kantor There used to be a game children played, in called

it

Black

he could.

Man

Once

...

.

.

these-here parts

.

.

.

They

Man, would try to catch as many as player became a Black Man. He joined the Its.

It,

caught, a

MO Bittersweet 142nwMO,

the Black

3

A

black mullet

/

fishing net.

1969 Lyons My Florida 69, Helping to haul mariahs" which encircled the fish of the river.

huge "black

in the

black martin n

=purple martin. 1895 Minot Land-Birds New

Engl. 150, Purple Martin. "Black Mar"Lustrous blue black; no purple anywhere." 1917 Wilson BulBig, black, house, or large martin, Hickletin 29.2.84, Progne subis. man, Kv. 1965-70£Mi?£(Qu.Q14)InfsGAl,65,IA29,KY9, LA29, MD42, 45, OH49, VA57, Black martin; (Qu. Qll) Inf NC54, Black martin. 1969 Longstreet Birds FL 102, Purple Martin. Other names: Black Martin The entire body of the male is covered with blue-black feathers that have a purple tint when rays of light shine on them. "

tin.

.

.

—

.

.

.

mason n =mason wasp.

black

1968

DARE (Qu.

R20) Inf SC57, Black mason.

black mike n 1968

man

•black

2 + var

Adams

Western Words, Black Mike

— A logger's term for stew.

black minister n Cf minister, white minister

(Qq. EE26, EE33)

3 also black man 's buffi A children's game similar to blindman's

=great black-backed gull. 1956 MA Audubon 40.22, Great Black-backed Gull ter (Mass. From its black mantle and white vest.). .

.

.

Black Minis-

.

.

buff.

1968 DARE (Qu. EE4, Games in which one player's eyes are bandaged and he has to catch the others and guess who they are) Inf OH74, Black man; MI81, Black man's buff touch each other on the face.

—

black

mangrove n Also black mango, black

tree,

blackwood

[OED 1697^]

A large evergreen

shrub

white mangrove 1775 (1962) Romans Nat. Hist. FL App xxvii, There are some mangrove and blackwood bushes on them. Ibid lxxx, The chief growth on 1884 Sargent the keys are [sic] mangrove and blackwood bushes. Forests of N. Amer. 117, Black Mangrove. Black Tree. Black.

.

.

Wood

very heavy, hard,

.

.

color dark

brown or nearly

black.

(saline 1939 Tharp Vegetation TX 67, Black Mango (Avicennia) marshes). 1967 Will Dredgeman 66 FL, Then there also was the black mangrove, a different tree entirely [from red mangrove]. Instead of standing on spidery legs, its trunk, tall and straight, springs directly from the ground. Since it normally grows in flooded areas, its roots, like those of a cypress, come above the surface to get their air. Yet instead of a few .

.

knees such as the cypress has, the black mangrove sends up hundreds, yes, thousands of what look like asparagus tips above the ground. 1976 Fleming Wild Flowers FL 41, Black mangrove is one of the most common trees in the coastal swamps of southern Florida. 1979 Little Other common names Checklist U.S. Trees 59, Black-mangrove blackwood. .

.

—

.

black maple n Also black sugar (maple) A dark-barked subsp of the sugar maple {Acer saccharum subsp nigrum) with dark green foliage. Also called hard maple, rock maple, sugar maple, sweet tree al817(1821)Dwight Travels 1.40, The Hard Maple, sometimes called the Black, is extensively called the Sugar Maple. 1884 Sargent Forests ofN. Amer. 49, Black Sugar Maple ... A large tree along streams and river bottoms, in lower ground than the species with which it is conMenected. 1921 Deam Trees IN 246, Black Maple. Black Sugar dium to large sized trees with dark furrowed bark on old trees. 1947 AmSp 22. 52, Black maple (saccharum nigrum). One of the two varieties of maples from which sirup is made. 1965-70 DARE (Qu.T 14) 11 Infs, scattered, Black maple; (Qu. T3) Inf KY68, Black maple is the same as sugar maple; MA47, Black sugar maple won't produce but a little sap, and not very sweet. .

.

.

1

black Maria n Also sp black mariah [Transf from black Maria a patrol wagon] Cf black wagon 1

A

hearse.

1 965 - 70

DARE (Qu. N2,

18 Infs, esp

2

Prob =cottonmouth. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. P25) Inf OK32, Black moccasin

The car used to carry a dead bodyfor burial) Black Maria.

An ambulance. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Nl, Other names for an ambulance)

NEast, Black Maria.

moke

[sic];

See

moke

black-monster tea n A kind of herb tea. 1970 DARE (Qu. BB50d, Favorite spring tonics around here) Inf VA69, Black-monster tea made by boiling a certain herb from the woods.

—

black mosquito n

Perh a black fly or punkie. 1966-67 DARE (Qu. Rl 5a, .. Nicknames .. for mosquitoes) Inf NC10, Black mosquito; OK52, Black mosquito after windy spells; LA8, Black skeeter.

—

black

moss n

[See quot 1911]

=Spanish moss

1.

(1922) Schaw Jrl. ofa Lady 152,

The trees that keep clear from this crowned with the Mistletoe. 1857 Gray Black Moss ... A Manual of Botany 458, TfillandsiaJ usneoides characteristic plant cf the Southern States. 1894 Coulter Botany W. TX Hanging on trees, forming 2.426, Common Long-moss. Black moss long tufts, southern Texas. 1911 Century Diet., Black-moss The Spanish moss of the southern United States: so called from the black fiber that remains after the outer covering of the stem is removed. It is used as a substitute for horsehair in mattresses, etc. 1950 Gray-Fernald Manual of Botany 392. 1 775

black moss (as

it is

called) are

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black mountain trout n

Prob a cutthroat trout or a rainbow 1967

DARE

(Qu. PI,

.

.

trout.

Freshwater fish

.

.

good

to eat) Inf

OR13,

good

to eat) Inf

FL29,

Black mountain trout.

blackmouth See blackmouth salmon black-mouthed bass n =black bass 1. 1966 DARE (Qu. PI, Black-mouthed bass.

.

.

Freshwater fish

blackmouth salmon n Also blackmouth =chinook salmon, esp the immature fish. 1946 LaMonte N Amer. Game Fishes

Chinook 106, W3, BlackBlackmouth Salmon. 1961 blackmouth salmon a king salmon esp. when immature. 1972 Sparano Outdoors Encycl. 352, Chinook Salmon Common blackmouth (immature stage). Names:

Salmon mouth .

common NEast and CA,

['mosikaen]

TX14, Black moccasin. black

germinans) found in Also called honey mangrove,

or tree (Avicennia

Florida and on the Gulf coast.

wood

black moccasin n

.

.

.

Names:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black mullet n 12 Infs, esp

1

=kingfish 1. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 123, The King-fish, Menticirrus nebulosus,

blackneck

black pine

/

known

268

1911 Century Also called whiting, tomcod, hake, black mullet and mink, names properly belonging to different animals.

also

as

the "Black Mullet" in the Chesapeake.

.

.

Diet., Kingfish

.

.

.

2 =striped mullet.

1960 Amer. Fisheries Soc. List Fishes 46, Striped mullet Mugil Known as black mullet in Florida. 1968 DARE (Qu. cephalus Saltwater fish P2. good to eat) Inf LA26, Black mullet. .

.

.

.

of three similar ducks:

.

.

Any

1

of var freshwater

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

1

1911 Century Diet. Suppi, Blackneck Either one of the scaupwhich have the head and upper part of the neck black. 1923 ducks Collective VerU.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.18, Scaup Ducks nacular Names In local use Blacknecks (Mich., Wis., Nebr.). .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

=ring-necked duck. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.21, Ring-necked Duck nacular Names In local use Blackneck (Wis., Ky.).

c

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Ver-

.

black-necked stilt n A stilt (Himantopus mexicanus).

Also called daddy-long-legs, humility, jack snipe, lawyer, long-legs, longshanks, Mormon

elder,

.

Zool.

&

Black-necked

stilt

The Black Necked Q10) Inf VA52,

Bot. Surv. Fishes Reptiles 358,

Himantopus

[sic],

DARE (Qu.

1970

nigricollis.

— new to the area.

black night n Cf black dark,

.

.

.

—

b =warmouth. 1968 DARE FW Addit

swMO, Black perch— warmouth bass, a brown-spotted, thickset sunfish with red eyes.

Any

2

of var saltwater

fish as:

full

a =tripletail.

1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Proc. 5.604, Lobotes surinamensis Black 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 148, Lobotes surinamensis [is] known in South Carolina as the "Black Perch." 1906 NJ State Museum Annual Rept. for 1905 313, Lobotes surinamensis Black Perch. 1933 LA Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 206, Elsewhere this species [Lobotes surinamensis] has been called Black Perch. .

night

at its darkest.

PADS

1953

black

night

.

.

.

19.9 sAppalachians, Black night

night

Dark

outside."

cl960

rather than dusky.

.

.

.

"I'll

Wilson

need a lantern as csKY, Black

Coll.

"He didn't get home till

black night."

black Norway pine See black pine lc black oak

perch

of several oaks with dark-colored bark or foliage, but most is also called dyer's oak, spotted oak, tanbark oak, yellowbark oak, yellow oak. 1634 Wood New Engl. Prospect 1.16, Of Oakes there be three kindes, the red Oake, white, and blacke. 1773 in 1963 AmSp 31.185 Ohio Valley, In five miles we crossed the Cantucky [sic] river to the east side along the path: five miles in a piece of black oak timber land. 1799 Ibid 8 Ohio Valley, The country was chiefly black-oak and white-oak land, which appeared generally to be good wheat land. 1906 DN2>. 27 nwAR, Various kinds of oak. 1947 Blackoak, redoak, scruboak, whiteoak [is] common in upland Amer. Midland Naturalist July 40, Black Oak oak forest; occasional in terrace forest. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T10) 284 Infs, widespread, Black oak; (Qu. Tl 5) Infs CT6, SC10, Black oak; (Qu. T16) Inf KY84, Blackoak. 1

1

.

.

.

.

.

black oat grass n [From the color of the lemma] needlegrass 1 (here: Stipa avenacea). Black Oat-Grass. 1848 Gray Manual of Botany 584, 5. avenacea brown or Floret 1 894 Coulter Botany W. TX 516, Black oat-grass nearly black, with a prominent brown hairy stipe. 1941 Walker Lookout 49 TN, Black oat grass, thrives in the open woodlands on the mountain. Its seed when ripe clings to the clothing and by a cork-screwlike device works its way through until it strikes the flesh. 1967 Woods, eastern Braun Monocotyledoneae 129, Black Oat Grass United States to Michigan and Texas. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[blackout loss of conscious-

spell a brief period]

DARE (Qu.

sudden feeling of weakness, when sometimes the person loses consciousness) Infs AR15, MS6, SC40, TN27, Blackout spell; WY4, Black spell.

BB6,

is

also called blue

croaker lc, surf-fish,

=red roncador 1. LaMonte A7

.

.

.

Game

Amer.

Fishes

82,

saturna

Scisena

.

.

.

.

.

Black perch.

black persimmon n

A persimmon tree (Diospyros texana) native to southern Texas which produces black, dark-fleshed fruits. Also called chapote, Mexican persimmon, mustang persimmon, possum plum 1846 (1941) Gregg Diary 1.239 TX, Among other wild fruits of this [is] that called by Mexicans chapote and generally by Americans, black persimmon. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 321, Diospyros texana, Mexican Persimmon Common names [include] Black Persimmon (Tex.), Chapote (Tex.). 1967 DARE (Qu. T16) Inf TX13, Black persimmon. vicinity,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

blackout spell n Also black spell

.

.

Embiotica jacksoni which

.

A

1966-68

2,

fish

.

Names: Black Perch. d =white perch. 1953 Md. State Dept Educ Our Underwater Farm 15 (Hench Coll.), Fish have different names in different parts of our [=Chesapeake] Bay ... on the Western Shore the common white perch is called a black perch. 1968 Z).4/?£ (Qu. P2, Saltwaterfish goodtoeat)\ntMY)W, .

+

The

1946

frequently Quercus velutina, which

ness

.

n, also attrib

.

.

.

b Std:

c

Any

1

.

Perch.

.

Nighttime it's

.

.

tilt

MA

1839 Hilt

.

.

.

.

1

,

.

b =lesser scaup. .

fish as:

a =largemouth bass or smallmouth bass. 1706 in 1907 Amer. Hist. Rev. 12.335 SC, There are Pearch of severall sorts, the white Bellied Pearch. the Red Bellied Pearch the Black Pearch and the Yellow Bellied Pearch. 1 780 ( 9 6) Fleming Travels KY 646. The Inhabitants of this place [in Kentucky] catched numbers offish yesterday and today, all cat fish except a black perch such as in Roanoke. 1820 Rafinesque OhioR. Fishes 3 1 Brown River-Bass Vulgar names. Black Bass, Brown Bass. Black Pearch; &c. Ibid 32, Trout River-bass Vulgar names Black Bass. Black Pearch, &c. 1883 Century Illustr. Mag. 26.376/2 KY, I have heard them [=black bass] called black perch, yellow perch, and jumping perch up the Rockcastle and Cumberland rivers. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 56, Black Perch [is another name] applied to one or both species [Micropterus salmoides; M. dolomieij. 1946 LaMonte A'. Amer. Game Fishes 1 34, Micropterus dolomieu .. Black Perch. 1968 DARE (Qu. PI, .. Freshwater good to eat) Inf MD36, Black perch. 1972 DARE File nwFL, fish Black perch a type of panfish. similar to bream. Common. .

a =greater scaup. 1888 Trumbull Names of Birds 54, This, the larger scaup, is distinas Lake blue-bill, and certain gunners about Detroit guished prefer Black-neck to the more common Western term "blue-bill." 1917 BlackOther Names (1923) Birds Amer. 1.135, Scaup Duck. neck. 1944 Hausman Amer. Birds 506, Black-neck see Duck, Scaup. .

black perch n

.

blackneck n [Seebquot 1911]

Any

black pepper tree n Prob a prickly ash 1 (here: Zanthoxylum clava-herculis). 1968 DARE (Qu. 135) Inf LA33, Black pepper tree.

.

.

.

black pea See black-eyed pea

A

black patch n =blackbeltl. 1960 Heimann Tobacco 228, The most troubled area was the so-called Black Patch of western Kentucky and Tennessee, this dark tobacco area being the last to go over to loose-leaf selling.

black-pied curlew n Also black-pieded curlew

=white

ibis.

1913 Auk 30.491 sGA, They [=natives of Okefenokee] also designate 'Blacksome brown and white ones [Gaura alba (White Ibis)] as pieded Curlews,' which roost with the other two. 1955 Oriole 20.3, White Ibis. Black-pied Curlew (black-pied refers to the black wing .

.

—

tips).

black pine n 1

Any

River

of several pines native chiefly east of the Mississippi

as:

a also black slash pine: =loblolly pine 1.

al782 ( 1 788) Jefferson Notes VA 39, Black, or pitch-pine, Pinus taeda. 1809 Kendall Travels 3.146 ME, The black pine or pitch pine (pinus taeda) grows in sands. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 26, PfinusJ taeda Black Pine (Va.). 1960 Vines Black Slash Pine (S.C.) Black Trees Other vernacular names are 23, Pinus taeda Pine. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. T17) Inf GA20, Black pine— same as .

.

.

.

SW

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black plantain

269

—

loblolly; VA75, Black pine long tag. Note: In addition to those listed here and at lc, 40 Infs responded with black pine to Qq. T15, T16, and T17. These responses cannot be differentiated further for black pine 1.

b =jack pine 1. Black Pine 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 30, Pinus divaricata (Minn.). 1908 Britton N. Amer. Trees 44, It [=Pinus banksiana] is also known as Jack pine, Black pine. 1968-69 DARE (Qu. T17) Infs MI93, 102, WI23, 64, Black pine. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Norway pine: =pitch pine 1 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 27, Pinus rigida Black Pine Black Norway Pine (N.Y.). 1900 Lyons Plant Names 292, (N.C.) c also black

.

.

.

.

1967-69 DARE(Qu.J 17)

Black Norway Pine. CT2, RI15, TNI 4, Black pine. .

.

.

Infs

d A pond pine (here: Pinus serotina). 1903 Small Flora SE U.S. 28, Pinus serotina Black Pine. 1927 Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Proc. 38.213 Okefenokee GA, Pinus serotina .

.

are bigoted in their opposition to Catholics.

black rockfish

The term

is

definitely

derogatory.

black racer n 1 also blacksnake racer, black runner: Either of two common black subspp (Coluber constrictor constrictor and. C.c. priapus) of the racer 1 which range throughout much of the eastern third of the US. Note: despite the wider distribution of the snake, DARE Infs who used the term 'black racer' were chiefly S Midi; DARE Infs using 'black runner' were chiefly Sth. See Map Section

.

.

PfinusJ rigida

who

/

.

Black pine.

1788 Schopf Reise Staaten 2.214 FL, Eine Schlange, der schwarze Laufer (Black Runner) genannt, wurde vor einiger Zeit getodet, und 12 Fuss lang gefunden. [A snake, called the black runner, was killed some time ago and found [to be] 12 feet lonj,.] 1836 Latrobe Rambler in N. of the powers of the black-runner in Amer. 2.46 FL, He would tell us destroying the rattle-snake, by the inconceivable swiftness of its mo1849 Lanman Letters Alleghany Mts. 22 GA, I saw one [snake tions. .

.

Monday was

a =lodgepole pine. 1884 Sargent Forests of Amer. 195, Black Pine. Lodge-pole Pine ... A tree 1 8 to 24 meters in height. 1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 23, Pinus murrayana Black Pine (Wyo.). 1973 Hitchcock -

a week, between a black-racer and a rattlesnake. (1970) Jones Wild Western 246 MO, Dod, they ain't pisen! They're nearly all black racers, and they don't bite. 1908 3.291 eAL, wGA, Black-runner ... A black snake noted for fleetness. Also called black racer, or simply racer. 1928 Pope Amphibians 53 WI, Black Snake Also may be called Black Racer. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu.

Cronquist Flora Pacific

P25) 28

2

Any

fight],

of three western pines:

1869

N

.

.

.

NW 62, Black pine

.

.

PfinusJ contorta.

.

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 22, Pinus jeffreyi Black Pine Blackbark Pine (Cal. lit.). 1970 DARE (Qu. T17) Inf VA43, Blackback pine. .

.

.

.

.

=ponderosa

c

.

.

CA

The bark of Pinus ponderosa is exceedingly brown-barked trees are very common all of which indicates the significance of their local names, "Black Pine," and "Yellow Pine." 1967 DARE (Qu. T17) Inf ID5, Black pine ponderosa. Note: In addition to the above Inf, 12 Infs (CA, OR, WA) responded with black pine to Qu. T17. These responses cannot be 79,

variable. Black-barked or

.

.

DN

.

.

.

.

S Midi, Black

Infs, chiefly

WV1 3,

Coast, Black racer

.

.

.

racer; 17 Infs chiefly Sth,

1969

Blacksnake racer.

16,

Snake

common on

Black

DARE FW Addit NC

Hatteras Island.

.

.

pine.

1910 Jepson Silva

.

runner; Infs

b also blackbark pine, blackback ~: =Jeffrey pine. (Cal.)

.

.

.

.

,

.

—

differentiated further for black pine 2.

2 A black phase of the coachwhip snake (esp of Masticophis jlagellum piceus). 1947 Pickwell Amphibians 43 SW, Coloration and markings of this Snake vary greatly, and until recently the Black Racer was classified 1964 Lowe Vertebrates 168 AZ, Coachas a separate species. whip Color phases in Arizona and elsewhere are called red racer and black racer. 1970 DARE (Qu. P25) Inf CA2 1 1 Black racer; TX8 Black racer [same as] coachwhip. 1974 Shaw- Car i obeli Snakes West 88, The second phase of the same subspecies f\L phisflagel lum piceus] is entirely black on its back. (It is often calLa the western

SW .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

,

—

black racer in this region.)

black plantain n [Perh from the blackish appearance of the

black rattlesnake n Also black

heads]

A

buckhorn plantain

Plantago lanceolata). seNY, Black plantain— black dock; a narrow leaf plantain; cook into tea and rub on poison ivy. 1969 DARE (Qu. S9) InfNY207, Black plantain. 1969

(here:

DARE FW Addit

black plaster n

rattler

A dark-colored rattlesnake such as the massasauga or the timber rattlesnake.

1778 Carver Travels N. Amer. 479 N Cent, The Rattle Snake. There appears to be two species of this reptile; one of which is commonly termed the Black, and the other the Yellow. 1928 Pope Amphibians 1 1 WI, Banded Rattlesnake. Crotalus horridus Other common names for this snake are Common Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake, Rock Varies from Rattlesnake, Yellow Rattlesnake and Black Rattlesnake sulphur-yellow to velvety-black Common in the western part of the 1967-68 DARE (Qu. P25) Infs TNT, WV2, 5, 7, Black rattler; state. twenty years FL34, VA1, Black rattlesnake; DC2, Black rattlesnake ago; a rare case. .

DARE FW

Addit neWV, In dealing with injuries of horses and cows, locally they use "black plaster," the principal ingredient of which is tar, with medicine added.

1968

black porgy n

called blackfish, other

is

names being

.

it .

[Tautoga

also of a (Qu. HH28, People of foreign backPortuguese) Inf RI13, Black Portuguese. .

ground.

.

.

1969

.

.

DARE

.

.

black potato bug n Cf old-fashioned potato bug Prob a blister bug. 1966 DARE (Qu. R30) Inf MI37, Black potato bug— about an inch long, they

black pox See black smallpox

A

Protestant

who

is felt

+

DARE

chiefly

.

.

black road n Also blacked road A road paved with blacktop. 1931-33 LANE Worksheets ceMA, Some years ago a black road (a tar-bound macadam) was built which was called a concrete road; swME, Blacked road Tarred road. 1936 Sun (Baltimore MD) 5 Sept 1 1/2 .

(Hench

.

1

.

be little difference between the cotton roads and th[e] so-called "black roads" of bitumonous [sic] macadam. 1974 DARE File cwMA (as of 920 - 30), Prescott never had any black roads. Coll.), In

appearance there

will

1

black rock n

black rockfish n

Nicknames

religious groups) Inf NY78, Black Protestant

.for various religions or

.

— old-fash, not practicing;

NY213, Black Protestants— What Catholics call Protestants; RI13, Black Protestant. 1969 DARE Tape PA225, There was a strong line drawn between Catholics and Protestants They'd call them Black .

.

.

1980 DARE File Boston MA, Among Irish Catholics, especially of my grandmother's generation, black Protestants are those Protestants.

.

NEast

to be intolerant of or prejudiced against

(Qu. CC4,

.

.

western cowboy's "jerky."

Protestant]

Catholics; a non-practicing Protestant.

1968-69

.

1962 Wyld Low Bridget cwNY, The canaller'sdiet included at times a commodity known as "Black Rock" pork, a canal equivalent to the

fly.

black Protestant n [black hostile usu derog

.

.

onitisj

black porgy.

black Portuguese n Also black Portagee =brava. 1941 LANE Map 452a seMA, Negro Colored man, used [blaek 'portagi].

.

—

=tautog. 1939 Natl. Geog. Soc. Fishes 66, In Chesapeake Bay occasionally

.

1 also spotted^: Either of two fish of the genus Sebastichthys: S. mystinus or S. melanops. Also called blue rockfish, peche

pretre, priestfish, rockfish

1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 268, Sebastichthys mystinus, is most gener"Black Rockfish." The Spotted Black Rockfish, Sebastichthys melanops, is founded with S. mystinus by the fishermen, under the name of "Black Bass" in Puget Sound, "Black Rockfish" in San Francisco. 1902 Jordan -Evermann/lmer. Fishes491, S. mystinus, the black rockfish. is the most abundant species in rather shallow water about San Francisco. 1939 Natl. Geog. Soc. Fishes 228, Black rockfish ally called the

.

.

— black roller

/

—

blacks, give one the

270

(Sebastodes mystinus). 1 960 Amer. Fisheries Soc. List Fishes 37, Black Sebastodes melanops.

rockfish

.

.

.

2 =black grouper 1. 1933 John G. Shedd Aquarium Guide 100, Trisotropis bonaci Black 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 49, Mycteroperca Rockfish.

—

bonaci

.

.

Names:

.

black roller

.

.

Black Rockfish.

.

6, Other common names often applied to and deerbrush.

B

1

1

black sagebrush See black sage

this plant are

n, also attrib

1936 The Daily Oklahoman 17 Mar nwCO (AmSp 13.72), He disappeared just before a 'black roller' dust cloud made midnight of mid-day Sunday. 1938 AmSp 13.71 OK, Black roller, also applying to the severest sandstorms.

black salmon n 1 Prob an Atlantic salmon (Salmo

salar).

1832 Williamson Hist. 1.160, There are three varieties; the black Salmon, which is the smallest; the hawkbill ; and the smoothnosed. 1966 DARE Tape ME10, Some stay in all winter and go back in the spring and then they call them black salmon.

black roncador n

=red roncador 1. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 134, Corvina saturna, is known wherever found as the "Red Roncador," less commonly as "Black Roncador" or "Croaker."

.

2 =cobia.

1935 Caine Game Fish 57, Rachycentron canadus Black Bonito, Black Salmon, Cobio, Crab-eater [etc.]. .

Outdoors Encycl. 376, Cobia salmon, black bonito.

black

=culver's root. for 709 (1941) Byrd Secret Diary 4 VA, I sent him some blackroot Leptandra Virginthe gripes. 1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 3, Black root 1965-68 DARE (Qu. BB22, Home remedies .for constipaica. tion) Infs IL83, IN 13, MSI, TN31, 34, 36, Blackroot; (Qu. BB50d, Favorite spring tonics around here) Inf MS60, Blackroot tea. 1971 Veronicastrum Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 268, Virginicum Common names: Culver's physic, Beaumont root, blackroot Uses: The rhizome is reputed to be a laxative, emetic, cholagogue, and tonic. 1

1

.

.

1

.

.

A

2

.

.

.

.

.

plant of the genus Pterocaulon, native to the South. .

..

Black-root

.

.

.

The thick

.

.

.

.

.

.

Common Names:

black root gives this plant

its

.

common

1975 Duncan -Foote Wild/lowers SE 206, Black-root ... Perennial from large dark roots. Leaf undersides and stem with feel of kid leather because of short, densely felted, and light-colored hairs.

3 =colicroot 2

(here: Aletris farinosa).

sampson n

purple coneflower, usu Echinacea purpurea. 1848 Gray Manual of Botany 223, E. purpurea Root thick, black, very pungent to the taste, used in popular medicine under the name of Black Sampson. 1901 Lounsberry S. Wild Flowers 520, Black SampMore gorgeous than any Rudbeckia and infinitely more charmson ing are these great, heavy heads of crimson blossoms. 1930 OK Univ. Biol. Surv. Pub. 83, Echinacea purpurea Black Sampson. 1961 Wills- Irwin Flowers TX234, Echinacea angustifolia Purple Coneflower, or Black-sampson as it is sometimes called, was applied to burns and superficial wounds. 1974 (1977) Coon Useful Plants 107, Black sampson ... is a tallish growing perennial widely found in the Midwest The roots are the part used. .

.

.

1

3,

.

.

.

.

black runner See black racer

.

.

SW

tridentata ...

is

also

known

as Black Sage.

A

blue-flowered sage 1 (Salvia mellifera) native to California and noted as a honey plant. Also called blue sage 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 294, Black Sage. Ball Sage Particularly abundant in the south, often covering whole hill-slopes. 1940 Jrl. Mammalogy 2 .388 CA, This farm was originally covered with such plants as black sage (Salvia mellifera). 1946 Peattie Pacific Coast 53, White sage, black sage, and purple sage all yield fine honeys. 1967-68 .

.

.

.

.

1

sage

.

(Qu. S26a) Inf CA4, Black sage; (Qu. S26e) Inf CA60, Black desert; CA79, Black sage hill sides.

—

—

A blue curls 1 (here: Trichostema lanatum). California, is called 1900 Lyons Plant Names 376, T. lanatum Black Sage. 1916 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 323, Woolly BlueCurls This plant is also sometimes called "black sage."

3

.

.

4

A

.

,

.

.

bitterbrush

1

(here:

Purshia tridentata).

1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101.52, Bitterbrush (Purshia tridenblack sage, deer Other English names often applied to it are tata) brush, and quinine brush. 1937 U.S. Forest Serv. Range Plant Hdbk. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black Saturday n 1938 (1955) FWP Guide DE 402, "Black Saturday" at Bowers Beach was set aside by the landowners in 852 or soon afterwards as a holiday for slaves and free Negroes who also wanted to celebrate the opening of the oyster season. Like Big Thursday, Black Saturday survives as a day of rest and amusement, with much eating, sleeping, and promenading in fine clothes. .

1

.

.

black scavenger n vulture.

1917 (1923) Birds Amer. .

1

misiaj tridentata is called "black sage" about as often as "sage-brush." 1931 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Pub. 101.167, Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) Other vernacular names include black sage, a name derived from the dark bark color of the older stem. Ibid 173, Low sagebrush (A. arbuscula), locally known as black sage, is a dwarf bush. 1940 Jrl. Mammalogy 21.168 NV, The bark of black sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) was often used. 1960 Vines Trees 969, Artemisia

DARE

.

.

.

2.57,

Names

Vulture ... Other

Black

Black Scavenger.

black sea bass n

1

1 also black sagebrush: A sagebrush (here either Artemisia arbuscula or A. trident ata). 1876 Bourke Journal 12 Mar (DA), Across the Southern boundary of Montana, in a region well grassed with gramma and the 'black sage,' a plant almost as nutritious as oats. 1924 Amer. Botanist 30.33, Afrte-

.

.

black scoter See scoter

black sage n West

2

.

.

.

.

Blackroot: Aletris farinosa.

.

.

=black

Millspaugh Amer. Med. Plants 172, Aletris farinCom. Names Black Root When used in the fresh state, osa emetic, cathartic, and somewhat narcotic. 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants

coalfish, black

A

1892 (1974) .

.

.

.

.

.

name.

.

.

.

1892 Coulter Botany W. 7T201, Pterocaulon (Black-root.) Perennial herbs. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 1400, Pterocaulon

Synonyms: 1972 Sparano

.

.

.

n, also attrib

.

black sage

ME

blizzard.

blackroot

.

1

.

=black

.

.

.

also black bass:

A dark-blue, black-banded

food fish (CentroAlso called blackfish,

pristes striatus) of the Atlantic coast.

black harry, black perch

black

2,

will, hannahill,

humpback,

tallywag, rock bass, sea bass

1842 DeKay Zool. AT 4.25, The Black Sea Bass, Centropristes nigri1855 U.S. Natl. [is] sometimes called Blue-Fish, Black Harry. Museum Annual Rept. for 1854 323, Black Bass Sea-Bass, CentroThe black fish, as an article of food, may be reckpristes nigricans oned among the best of the fishes of the coast. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms, Black Bass ... On the Jersey coast, this name is also given to the Sea Bass (Centopristes nigricans). 1906 NJ State Museum Black Sea Bass. Annual Rept. for 1905 308, Centropristes striatus cans,

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

1966-68

NCI 2,

DARE (Qu.

P2,

.

.

Saltwater fish

.

.

good

.

.

to eat) Infs

MD36,

Black bass.

2 also California ~ giant ~: =giant sea bass 1. Black 1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 16.531, SftereolepisJ gigas Sea Bass. 1902 Jordan -Evermann Amer. Fishes 3S0, Imagine this, and you have the jewfish, black sea-bass, or Stereolepis gigas of the Pacific coast. 1946 LaMonte A'. Amer. Game Fishes 45, California Black Sea Bass Black Sea Bass. 1972 Sparano Stereolepis gigas Names: Outdoors Encycl. 382, Common Names: California black sea bass, giant .

.

black sea bass. Scientific

.

.

Name:

.

.

.

.

Stereolepis gigas.

black sea coot See black coot black sea duck See sea duck blacks, give

To snub

one the v phr

or ignore someone. \966DARE(Qu. 116, Ifyou meet somebody who used to be a friend, and he pretends not to know you: "When I met him on the street he ") Inf SC26, Give me the blacks.

—

— black sheep

271

1

A

home

children's game: see quot.

l968Z).4/?£(Qu. EE12.

Games in which one captain hides his team and EE 5)

the other team tries tofindit) Infs NJ27, PA 148, Black sheep: (Qu. part of run-sheep-run. 17. Black sheep Inf

A

used in blindman's buff; see quot. Cf blacksnake n 4 If blindfolded person went where he shouldn't,

call

1966

1

—

MO

2

DARE Jape AL3.

the others shouted "black sheep."

AmSp

2.348

WV,

Black sheep one

.

to obtain another person's

.

my

Henry blacksheeped me while needed me at home."

job. "Will

father

was

sick

and they

To crawl on one's belly. 1923 D.\ 5.233 sw\VI, Blacksnake; blacksnake blacksnake would crawl. "He blacksnaked it up to blacksnake racer See black racer

1

—

.

the other before a storm.

black slash pine See black pine la

A

black smallpox n Also black pox black with death]

esp lethal form of smallpox. 45, The most commonly recognized diseases 1957 Beck Folkl. black pox (smallpox), spotted fever. 1965 Dorland's Med. Diet. 1397, 1967 DARE (Qu. Black sfmallpoxj. hemorrhagic s[mallpox]. BB49, Kinds of diseases) Inf CO20, Black smallpox.

ME

.

1,

A racer 1 — esp the black racer

1 in

the East

and Southeast

—

or a similar snake. 1634 Wood New Engl. Prospect 46, A great long blacke snake, two yards 1900 U.S. in length which will glide through the woods very swiftly. Natl. Museum Annual Rept. for 1898 794, The Zamenis constrictor is the "black snake" of the East and the "blue" and "green racer" of the West. 1945 Mathews Talking Moon 150 OK, The blacksnakes. having no

young

rabbits to prey on, are a greater

menace

to the birds.

1965-70

DARE (Qu. P25) 487 Infs. widespread, Black snake. Note: some of these may

Infs

be referring instead to black snake

2.

2 =pilot blacksnake. 1892 IN Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Rept. for 1891 501, Alleghany Our indistinctly spotted Black-snake Coluber alleghaniensis and almost jet black form is not distinguished by most people from the Black-racer, although it is a very different snake. [1935 Copeia 1.42. has several times been noted on the islands of The pilot blacksnake Two live ones from Ganonoque Lake were the St. Lawrence River sent Farmers in the vicinity have told me that they have seen as many as 15 or 20 blacksnakes in the spring.] 1967 DARE (Qu. P25) Inf same as AR51, Blacksnake or chicken snake; LA3, Blacksnake .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

chicken snake.

3 also

attrib:

.

1

usu Cimicifuga racemosa.

.

.

.

.

.

1, usu the more easterly spp. Vulgo 1837 Darlington Flora Cestrica 184, SfaniculaJ marilandica Woodlands and thickets: common. 1848 Black Snake-root Sanicle. Black Snake-root. Gray Manual of Botany 156. Sanicula Fruit densely 189i Coulter Botany W. TX 145, Black snakeroot covered with hooked prickles. 1916 Keeler Early Wildflowers 169. blooms about the middle of May. ripening its fruit Black Snakeroot in July. 1963 Zimmerman -Olson Forest 151. Black Snakeroot Sometimes solitary, sometimes in colonies but present in almost all Oak stands. .

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black snake n 1

.

2 =sanicle

An

.

bugbane

.

[From the association of

To crawl as a within gunshot."

.

git

1698 (1848) Thomas Hist. & Geog. Accl. 19. There grows also in great plenty the Black Snake-Root, (fam'd for its sometimes preserving, but often curing the Plague, being infused only in Wine. Brandy or Rumm.). 1782 ( 1 788) Jefferson Notes I A 36. Black snake-root. Actaea racemosa. 1840 Zool. & Bot. Sun. Herb. Plants & Quadrupeds 2 1 Strong medicinal properties: cultivated in Cohosh. Black Snakeroot the gardens of the Shakers. 1941 Walker Lookout 48 TN, Among the wild plants once employed as antidotes for the bites of poisonous reptiles, are rattlesnake master, blacksnake root, rattlesnake-weed. Samson snakeroot. or scurfy. 1976 Bruce How to Grow Wildflowers 167, Other names for this plant are Black Bugbane. Cimicifuga racemosa Cohosh and Black Snakeroot. .

1967 DARE (Qu. Bl 1, Are there any other kinds of clouds that come come in one behind around here 7) Inf LA 1 Black-sheep clouds

often

it

black snakeroot n

MA

black-sheep cloud n Cf sheep cloud, sheepshead A storm cloud.

coming

for

late.

2

1

black sheep v 1927

blacksnipe

1935 Davis Honey 173 OR, His uncle blacksnaked him

black sheep n

.

.

.

.

.

A

3 also black snakeweed:

wild ginger

1 (here:

Asarum

cana-

dense).

1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 13. Black snakeweed. Wild ginger. Asarum Black or Virginicum. 1900 Lyons Plant Xames 49, A. Canadense 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 66. Coltsfoot Snakeroot. Black snakeroot. black snakeweed The rhizome has value as an .

.

.

.

.

.

expectorant, antiseptic, and tonic.

4 Either of two other plants considered medicinal: see quot. Snakeroot. 1975 Hamel-Chiltoskey Cherokee Plants 55. white baneberry black: Actaea pachypoda Tea to relieve and .

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

point of death Snakeroot black, Virginia Chew root and spit on snakebite. tolochia serpentaria rally a patient at

.

.

.

.

.

.

Aris-

.

.

black snap n chiefly

NEng

A

black huckleberry 1 (here: Gaylussacia baccata). 1894 Jrl.Amer. Folkl. 7 .93. Gaylusaccia resinosa black snaps. Wells. Gaylussaccia: huckleM[ain]e. 1907 D.V3. 8 seNH, Black-snaps 1931 Clute Common Plants 42. berries. The seeds snap when eaten. One might be puzzled to know why one species of huckleberry 'Gaylussacia baccataj is called crackers, cracker berry, and black-snaps, until in eating the fruit he finds the seeds cracking between his teeth. 1 960 Vines .

1

1

.

.

.

.

|

A

long, leather whip.

A short-handled whip with a long used on stages and dog-teams. 1928 in 1977 Pissing in the Snow 202 Ozarks, "If you-uns ever come back," says old lady Mosely, "it will be a regular blacksnake next time, instead of these little switches." 1929 AmSp 5.62 NE. cl960 Wilson Coll. csKY, Blacksnake whip ... A 1967-69 DARE Tape leather whip of four strands, plaited round. CA 60. A blacksnake was a leather tube sort of thing with a buckskin popper on it that tapered They [=muleskinners and teamsters] used The to always carry them around their neck; MI56, A blacksnake stock was two and a half, maybe three foot long; it was all braided leather, eight foot long to the tip; WV2, That was the height in your career when you got so you could drive six mules to a wagon and use a big blacksnake wagon whip. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. K27) Infs LA12, VA10. Blacksnake; IN3. VA38, Blacksnake whip. 1914ZXY4.162NW, Blacksnake

.

.

.

lash;

1

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

4 A call used in blindman's buff to warn the blindfolded player of an obstacle. Cf black sheep n 2 1968 DARE (Qu. EE4) Inf GA58, Call "black snake" if you're going to run into anything.

5 Among railroad workers: see quot. 1945 Hubbard Railroad Ave. 333, Black snake

SW 815.

— Solid train of loaded

Gaylussacia baccata (Qu. S26a) Inf

DARE

1966

.

.

Black Also known as the Black snaps similar to

.

.

—

ME7.

.

blueberries.

black snapper n 1

Either of tw o snappers: esp the schoolmaster, but also Apsilus

dentatus.

Black Snap1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Proc. 5.275, Lutjanus caxis the 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes 79. It [Lutjanus caxis] is called "Black Snapper" at Pensacola. 1946 LaMonte N. Amer. Game Fishes 59, Lutianus apodus Xames: Black Snapper. 1960 Amer. Fisheries Soc. List Fishes 26. Black snapper Apsilus dentatus. .

.

.

per.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 =jewfish (here: Epinephelus itajara).

Game

1946 LaMonte N. Amer. crops itaiara

.

.

.

Names:

3 =massasauga. 1951 Conant Reptiles sasauga;

Swamp

Amphibians

.

OH

12. Sistrurus

1

catenatus catenatus

Black Snapper.

Rattler,

Promi-

Fishes 45. Spotted Jewfish Black Snapper.

.

.

.

.

Mas-

1958 Conant Reptiles

&

188.

blacksnipe n

coal cars.

blacksnake v 1 To whip or punish (someone),

Trees Snap.

=solitary sandpiper. 1925 (1928) Forbush Birds MA 1.440. Tringa solitaria SolitarySandpiper. Other names: Black Snipe. 1946 Hausman Eastern 1

[black snake n 3]

.

.

.

.

.

snow

black

blackthorn locust

/

272

Eastern Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria ... Other Audubon 39. 18, Solitary Sandpiper. Black Snipe. 1955 Black Snipe (Mass., R.I. Dark grayish brown above, the wings appearing very dark ). Birds 271,

Names

.

.

MA

.

.

.

2 =black-bellied plover. 1923 U.S. Dept. Ag. Misc. Circular 13.68, Black-bellied Plover (Squatarola squatarola) black spine (Ala.). 1962 Imhof In local use: Other AL Birds 229, Black-bellied Plover Squatarola squatarola .

.

—

.

snow n Cf black

.

grow

to

dust

in crops "black snow"

—

.

.

.

blizzard of

spite

.

— to

the

.

.

now

.

continue of

.

menace

lessening

.

.

.

—

selves undenominational.

black sop n [black like black

1

+

nwAR, Black sop

27

.

.

Ham gravy. "Us children used to

.

1967 bread

cowboy

calls a piece

of shade.

— Catostomus

Soc. List Fishes Z3, Black sucker [Hypentelium

DARE (Qu. H

1

8,

.

.

Special kinds of bread) Inf HI6, Black sugar

— azuke beans mashed up, bean curd, and sweetened with brown steamed

bun.

in a

black sugar maple See black maple

=warmouth.

LA

Dept. of Conserv. Fishes 342, The Warmouth Bass has come Black Sunfish. confusing popular names. These are:

many

.

1968

.

2.

DARE (Qu. S7) Inf IN 14, Black Susie; (Qu. SI

1

)

Inf NC80, Black

Susie.

black swallow n

Perh the purple martin. 1966-69 DARE (Qu. Q20)

black-spotted trout n Also black trout =cutthroat trout.

Infs

GA3, IL85, LA37, MI101, Black

swallow.

1882 U.S. Natl. Museum Bulletin 16.316, SfalmoJ purpurBlack Trout. 1887 Coode Amer. Fishes 457, The Black Spotatus ted Trout, the Salmopurpuratus. 1911 Century Diet. 6503, Black trout, the Lake Tahoe trout: specified as Salmo henshawi. 1946 LaMonte A'.

black-tailed deer n Also black-tail (deer), black-tail mule deer

.

Game

Amer.

Fishes 115, Salmo clarkii

1972

Trout. .

Sparano

Scientific

.

Outdoors

Name: Salmo

.

.

.

Names:

Encycl.

.

.

356,

Black-spotted

Black-spotted

clarki.

black spruce n 1 also black spruce fir: An evergreen resinous conifer (Picea mariana). Also called bog spruce, cat spruce, double spruce, he-balsam, juniper, spruce pine, swamp spruce, tamarack, white spruce, yew pine 1765 Rogers N. Amer. 48 NH, You will find beach, hemlock, and some white pines; higher up the growth is chiefly black spruce. 1803 Lambert P. nigra, grows wild only in New Descr. Pinus .4 Black Spruce Fir England, Canada, Nova Scotia. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T5) 10 Infs, Nth, Black spruce; (Qu. T15) Infs CT13, ME8, MI53, MN14, Black spruce; (Qu. T16) Inf NH4, Black spruce. 1

1

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Common

.

black stinging gnat See black gnat black story n [black wicked, dishonorable 1952 Brown

NC Folkl.

1.521, Black story ...

+ story he, falsehood] A

decidedly bad

lie.

—

General.

black striker n

=black

mule deer or a subsp thereof. 1806 (1905) Lewis Orig. Jrls. Lewis & Clark Exped. 4.87, The Black tailed fallow deer. 1825 (1929) Atkinson- OFallon Exped. 24 ND, A black tail deer was killed on this river by one of the hunters. 1826 Godman Amer. Nat. Hist. 2.304, The Black-tail Deer. Cervus Macrolis. 1848 (1962) U.S. Army Abert's NMRept. 33, Of the latter there are two 1965-70 DARE (Qu. varieties, the common deer, and the black tail. P32) 10 Infs, chiefly West, Black-tail deer; HIM, Black-tail mule deer. 1968 Adams Western Words, Blacktail— Black-laikd deer. 1969 O'Connor Horse & Buggy West 162, He would even tell you about the canyon where he'd seen a big desert mule deer buck (which he always called a "blacktail").

blacktail sunfish n

=longear sunfish. 1820 Rafinesque Ohio

R. Fishes 29, Big-Ear Sunfish ... tail black, Black-tail Sunfish &c. 1946

A fine species, called Amer. Game Fishes 139.

slightly forked: ...

LaMonte N.

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 37, Picea canadensis Black Spruce (Pa. ). .

A

.

2 =white spruce (here: Picea glauca).

Names

—

=black-eyed Susan

—

.

,

black Susie n

area shaded from the sun. 1936 AmSp 1 1.275 cTN, Black spots. Shade. "You don't have any black spots in your yard." 1944 Adams Western Words, Black spot

trout

1

.

sugar, then

1933

An

.

.

black sugar bread n

sop on our bread."

black spot n

.

.

black sunfish n

Cf white sop

sop]

black spell See blackout spell

the

.

.

4 =hog sucker. 1960 Amer. Fisheries

to bear

What

.

3 =white sucker. 1949 Caine N. Amer. Sport Fish 159, White Sucker commersonii Colloquial Names Black Sucker.

.

.

—

DN 3.

.

black sugar See black maple

group that shuns the use of church buildings. Nicknames .for various religious 1967 DARE (Qu. CC4, groups) Inf NE8, Black socks for people without church buildings, who don't believe in being frivolous; NE10, Black socks they don't believe in church buildings and go about two by two. They call themreligious

1906

.

.

.

nigricans].

their fields.

black socks n

A

.

.

—

FWP Guide CO 5, These weather-beaten plainsmen

1941

MA

.

.

.

Names: Beetlehead, Blacksnipe.

black

esteemed. It is also found in the Missouri, whence it is sometimes called the Missouri Sucker. Length two feet. 1839 Zool. & Bot. Surv. Fishes Reptiles 86, Cyprinus nigricans The black Sucker Color of the back, black; sides reddish yellow. 1871 Amer. Naturalist 4.386, Mud-loving species common to the Delaware and its tributaries [include] Black Sucker. 1967 DARE (Qu. P3, Freshwater fish not good to eat) Inf IA 1 Black sucker.

.

.

black tern n

A small dark short-tailed tern (Chlidonias nigra surinamensis). Also called black gull, black striker, marsh tern, mosquito gull, pigeon gull, sea pigeon, short-tailed tern, slough gull, water swallow 1844 Giraud Birds Long Is. 352, The Black Tern, like the rest of its tribe, has great powers of wing, and though apparently delicately formed, 1967-70D.4/?£(Qu.Q10)InfsMI53, VA47, it is strong and muscular. Black tern.

tern.

1917 Wilson Bulletin 29.2.76, Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis.— Adult is black striker, young, pigeon gull, Wallops Id., Va.

black sucker n

black thorn n

=black haw

1

3.

1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 215, Crataegus douglasii

Any

mon Names

1

2

of several suckers, esp: =spotted sucker, obs 1820 Rafinesque Ohio R. Fishes 58, A singular species seen at the falls. It is rare and called Spotted Sucker or Black Sucker. 2 also blackback sucker, black suckrel: =Missouri sucker. Vulgar 1820 Rafinesque Ohio R. Fishes 58, Black-back Sucker names Black Sucker and Blue Sucker. 1820 Western Rev. 2.355, Black Suckrel. Cycleptus nigrescens ... A rare fish, whose flesh is very much .

.

.

.

.

.

A nannyberry (here:

Viburnum

1900 Lyons Plant Names 392, Thorn.

blackthorn locust n 1951 PADS 15.34 TX, water locust.

.

.

.

Com-

Black Thorn (Idaho, Utah, Wash.).

V.

lentago).

Lentago

Gleditsia aquatica

.

.

.

Black Haw, Black

Black-thorn,

swamp, or

black timber ant

273

/

black vulture

black timber ant n Prob =carpenter ant.

DARE (Qu. R

1967

1

8) Inf C037,

Black timber ant, in timber,

inches

Va

long.

black

n

titi

Cf red

I'blaek 'tai,tai|

=buckwheat

1

white

titi,

titi

tree.

Com1897 Sudworth Arborescent Flora 277 Cliftonia monophylla Black Titi (Ha.). 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 812, Black-tit i The flowers are an important source of honey. 1972 Common in the acid pineBrown Wildflowers LA 104, Black Titi lands, bogs, and wet sites in southeastern Louisiana. .

',

mon Names .

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 =he-huckleberry

Mohr

1901

.

.

Plant

.

.

1.

Life

AL

601,

racemiflora ... Black

Cyrilla

1953 Sandy swamps, borders of pine-barren streams. This small tree of Greene -Blomquist Flowers South 68, Black Titi is easily spotted by its swamps, pocosins, bays, and stream banks of white flowers. 1976 Bruce How to Grow Wildflowers 149, sprays Gray's Manual of Botany (which lists its common names as He-huckleberry and Black Ti-ti as well as those already given) says the following about the plant: "Autumnal foliage scarlet or orange, gorgeous when Ti-ti

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

mingled with the bright yellow

fruit."

black-top

mushroom n

=inky cap. 1970

DARE (Qu.

137) Inf OH95, Black-top

mushroom.

black tree See black mangrove

black tobacco n

black

See quot. Also called dark tobacco A variety of tobacco 1944 PADS 2.64, Black-tobacco, dark-tobacco grown especially in western Kentucky; it is also grown in other parts of

tripletail

See

tripletail

1

.

.

.

the country.

Also called dark-faced

2 also export tobacco: See quot.

Cf African black

bacco

PADS 2.64,

1944

to-

fats

shade of color of the cured leaf Formerly the term export-tobacco affecting the price on the market was often used. This kind of tobacco has a stronger, more marked flavor .

.

which was preferred

Cf black man

2

Brooklyn NY, Black Tom—Jht boy who middle of the street, and the others on the pavement on one side. When "it" cries, "Black Tom" three times, the other players run across, and may be caught, in which case they must join the one who 1901 DN 2. 1 36, Black-Tom ... A is "it" in capturing their comrades. game. Brooklyn. The cry used is pron[ounced] [blaek torn]. 1909 (1923) Bancroft Games 54 NYC, Black Tom Two parallel lines are drawn on the ground with a space of from thirty to fifty feet between them. All of the players except one stand beyond one of these lines. In the middle territory between the lines the one player who is chosen to be It takes his Jrl.

Amer.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

and Dodge the Skunk

.

.

are similar to

.

Pom-Pom-Pullaway

.

.

.

It

was

required to tag pack members as they ran from one home area to the other The Black Tom //called a series of names the last one of which (Black Tom) was the signal that required the pack members to run to the .

.

.

opposite home.

chiefly Sth, S Midi See Map Any of various diseases (including anthrax and pellagra) of humans and animals in which darkening of the tongue is symp-

tomatic. 1834 Amer. Railroad Jrl. 3. 120/3, A disease in horses and cattle called the Black Tongue or the Burnt Tongue. 1845 in 1956 Eliason Tarheel Talk 260 NC, A very fatal disease has been ravaging the counties of Edgecomb & Northampton, it is called the "black tongue," the patient dies in six hours after he is taken & very few cures are effected. 1919 Dunn Indiana 2.804 sIN, In 1842-3 epidemic erysipelas prevailed in a number of counties in southern Indiana, and was known by a number of popular names, as "black tongue," "sore throat." 1937 Hall Coll. wNC, I allowed they [=deer] might a tuck the black tongue and died, just like it tuck the cattle. There was no cure. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 267 FL, A plague has hit the wild creeturs. Hit's the black tongue. 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Black tongue ... A disease of cows. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. K28, Diseases that cows have around here) 24 Infs, chiefly Sth, S horses or mules commonly Midi, Blacktongue; (Qu. K47, Diseases .

.

get

A black-and-white, cultivated bush bean. Also called coachdog bean, polka dot 1976 Wanigan Catalog A, Black Trout A strain of Trout [bean], with the red color replaced with black. Growth similar to Trout.

black tupelo n

=black gum 1. 1950 Moore Trees Tupelo.

AR

102,

1960 Vines Trees

Local Names: Black Nyssa sylvatica Black Tupelo— Nyssa sylvatica. 1 .

SW 80

.

.

,

black turtle n =alligator snapper.

1968

DARE {Qu.

P24) Inf LA34A.

black valentine bean n An early-maturing bush bean (Phaseolus spp.). 1966-69 DARE (Qu. 120) Infs GA72, NC37, Black valentine (beans). 1978 Wanigan Catalog 4, Black Valentine Syn[onym]s: French String, May Queen, King of the Earlies ... A flat light green snap bean. Seed thin, black.

black velvet spider n 1967 DARE (Qu. R28) Inf TX17, Black

velvet

spider— supposed to be

poisonous.

blacktongue n

.

2 See black-spotted trout.

.

place The other players must all rush across to the opposite line, being chased by the center player Any one caught joins him thereafter in chasing the others The game as here given is played in Brooklyn, N.Y. 1965 Dundes Folklore 331, The games Black Tom, .

.

Folkl. 4.224

"it" stands in the

.

.

.

3

in certain foreign countries.

Tom n chiefly NYC old-fash A children's tag game: see quots. 1891

.

.

black

is

=largemouth black bass. 1849 Lanman Letters Alleghany Mts. 9.65, On inquiring of a homespun angler what fish the river did produce, he replied: "Salmon, black-trout, red horse, hog-fish, suckers and cat-fish." 1882 U.S. Natl. The "Black Trout" Museum Bulletin 11.75, Micropterus salmoides and is still more abundant. occurs 1

.

A

Black-tobacco ...

black trout n

.

around here) Inf MI67, Blacktongue.

.

.

black viper n

=hognose snake. 1969£>.-LR£(Qu. P25) Inf KYI black vipers and spotted vipers.

1,

Spread

heads— includes two species:

black vulture n Also black-headed vulture, blackhead A large scavenger bird (Coragyps atratusj. Also called black buzzard 2, black scavenger, carrion crow, Charleston buzzard, corn crow, Jim Crow, zopilote Cf turkey vulture 1791 (1958) Bartram Travels 289, These breed and continue the year round in Pennsylvania: Vultur atratus, black vulture. 1814 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 9. 105. It is said that the Black Vultures sometimes attack young pigs, and eat off their ears and tails. 1858 Baird Birds 5, Cathartes Atratus ... The Black Vulture. 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 1.57, Black vulture. 1938 Oberholser Bird Life LA 152, Black Vulture Coragyps atratus atratus (Meyer) It may be distinguished by its black head and its rather square instead of rounded tail which is very conspicuous when the bird is in flight. 1966-70 DARE (Qu. Q13) Inf FL51, Blackhead; .

.

.

DC8, Black-headed

.

.

vulture.

A

wagon

black

/

blackworm

274

black wagon n Also black buggy [black (from the association with death and because usu painted black) + wagon]

=black Maria

1

1.

967 - 68 DARE (Qu. N2, The car used to carry a dead body for burial) Infs NJ1, 16, VVI12, Black wagon; VA38, Black buggy. 1

=black Maria 2. 1967-70 DARE (Qu. Nl Other names for an ambulance) MI 108, NJ1, PA44, Black wagon. 2

,

Infs

KY49,

2042/1 (DA), Black wax ... A tenacious black 1903 (1965) Adams Log Cowboy 357 cnTX, If any of you know anything about that black-waxy, hog-wallow land in Ellis County, you know that when it gets muddy in the spring a wagon wheel will fill solid with waxy mud. 1927 My Okla. Apr 24/1 (DA), The crop may be grown on about any type of soil except the 'black-waxy' and extremely heavy clays. 1941 FWP Guide AR 237, In the "black wax" soil of the delta are great plantations, farmed principally by Negro sharecroppers or day laborers. 1970 DARE (Qu. C3 1 Heavy, sticky soil) Inf TX84, Black waxy.

1893-5 Stand.

Diet.

mud found in Texas.

,

black warmouth See warmouth

black warrior n [Prob from the large

size

and usu dark

color-

ation]

=Harlan's hawk. Audubon Ornith.

1

1831

pounce on a

Biog. 1.442,

The Black Warrior has been seen to

MA

almost instantly, and conceal it. 1839 Zool. & Bot. Surv. Fishes Reptiles 269, The Black Warrior subsists on poultry, partridges and other birds. 1858 Baird Birds 24, Harlan's Buzzard; The Black Warrior ... In the collection are two specimens of the bird which were obtained near Fort Thorne, New Mexico. 1874 Coues Birds 352, Harlan's Buzzard; Black Warrior ... I regard the claims of this species to validity as not yet established. 1932 Bennitt Check-list 22, Harlan's hawk Black warrior. 1946 Goodrich Birds in ^5320, Colloquial Name Warrior, black. 1951 Pough Audubon Water Bird 320, Black warrior. See Harlan's hawk. fowl, kill

it

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

NW

.

.

.

.

.

.

2 =channel catfish.

Trautman

1957 called

.

.

Fishes

415

wax bean

black

will

Bass

Largest

adults

See black bean 2

39, In the

Middle [Atlantic] States the Sea and "Hannahills." 1936

called "Black Will," "Black Harry,"

is

Hench

VA, On

a guided fishing trip we heard a guide call a fish a a fish with large black and white spots. It is usually called "sea bass." 1939 Natl. Geog. Soc. Fishes 84, The common sea Coll.

"black will."

It is

is often known as black will, in the Chesapeake ranges from Massachusetts to the Atlantic coast of Florida. (Qu. P2. Saltwaterfish good to eat) Infs DEI, MD36,

which

bass,

region,

.

.

1968 DARE Black wills. 1970 call

.

.

.

.

DARE Tape VA1 12,

'em; black bass

is

the proper

name

They catch

wasp n

Any

black

will,

they

of var dark-barked willows, but esp Salix nigra which

also called pussy willow

is

and swamp willow.

1802 (1803) Ellicott Jrl. 284 LA, Black-willow. [is] not in great abundance, and becomes more scarce as you descend the river. 1947 Amer. Midland Naturalist July 38, Black Willow [is] occasional (locallv common) in river swamps. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. T15) Infs NM13, TX5, 22, UT3, 4, 13, WI12, 17, Black willow; (Qu. T16) Inf .

.

of var dark-colored wasps such as the mud dauber 1. [include 1789 Morse Amer. Geog. 62, INSECTS found in America the] Black Wasp. 1902 Harben Abner Daniel 52 nGA, "You look fer the world like a dirt-dauber." This comparison to a kind of black wasp came from Pole Baker. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. R21) 106 Infs, chiefly east of Missip R, Black wasp; (Qu. R20) 9 Infs, scattered, Black wasp. .

.

black water n Coffee, esp

coffee.

—

2 Ink.

AmSp

OR 10. 2

Black willow.

=mule

fat.

1894 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 7.91, Baccharis viminea, Barbara Co., Cal.

.

.

black willow, Santa

black wind See black blizzard

weak

1850 Garrard Wah-to-Yah {AmSp 16.185), SW, Though coffee, sugar, tobacco, and other luxuries are high-priced, and often purchased with a whole season's trapping, the "black water" is offered with genuine free-heartedness. 1968 Adams Western Words, Black water freighter's term for weak coffee. 1939

.

.

Any

1

.

for 'em.

black willow n

(colloquially

black warriors and loggerheads) are dark steel-blue with whitish

.

C Atl

n

=black sea bass. 1887 Goode Amer. Fishes

1

OH,

bellies.

black

black

.

14.89

cTN, Black

water. Ink. 'School children write their

lessons with black water.'

blackwood See black mangrove black

woodcock n

=pileated woodpecker. 1811 Wilson Amer. Ornith. 4.27, In Pennsylvania and the northern he is called the Black Woodcock; in the southern states, the Log-cock. 1858 Baird Birds 107, Black Wood Cock. 1932 Bennitt Check-list 4 1 MO, Northern pileated woodpecker. Ceophloenus pileatus abieticola black woodcock. 1953 Jewett Birds WA 399, Western Pileated Woodpecker. Dryocopus Other pileatus picinus names: Black Woodcock. 1962 Imhof AL Birds 331, Pileated Woodpecker Other Names: Black Woodcock. states

.

.

.

3 See black waterite.

.

[See quot 1963]

black waterite n Also black water

chiefly

eKY Cf melungeon A person of mixed race, usu Black, Indian and White. 1947 AmSp 22.82, [Tri-racial mixed-blood groups] Black Waterites, or division of the Melungeons.) 1963 Berry Almost White 35, In Eastern Kentucky the mixed-bloods are called Black Waterites, because they live along the Black Water Creek.

The Black Waters. (A

black watermelon n [See quot 1981] See quots. Big, dark green water1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Black watermelon melon with black seeds. 1981 NADS Letters NC, The term black watermelon is most likely to be a more generic term for a particular The variety of watermelon, the "black diamond" watermelon melon itself is an extremely large, slightly elongated round melon with a .

.

.

.

skin of such a dark shade of green that

it is

.

.

(or appears to be) almost

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

black woodpecker n =pileated woodpecker. East (1923) Birds Amer. 154, Pileated Woodpecker ... Other Names Great Black Woodpecker. 1946 Hausman Eastern Birds Field Marks A large black woodpecker 382, Black Woodpecker almost as large as a crow. 1955 Forbush-May Birds 294. 1

1917

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

2 =Lewis's woodpecker. West 1917 (1923) Birds Amer. 2.158, Lewis's Woodpecker ... Other Names. Black Woodpecker. 1923 Dawson Birds CA 1 033, For all the

—

Black Woodpecker keeps largely to the tops of trees, it is not averse to .. fallen acorns. 1953 Jewett Birds W 'A 400. 1966Z)AR£(Qu.Q17) Inf ID 1, Black woodpecker.

black word n [black 1966

black.

DARE (Qu.

Y4,

hostile, dishonorable] .

.

A

very uncomplimentary remark) Inf

MI 18,

Black word.

black watersnake n

blackworm n

=water moccasin. 1952 Ditmars N. Amer. Snakes 218, Common Water Snake, Water Occasional specimens are very "Moccasin," Natrix sipedon sipedon dark brown and called "black" water snakes. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. P25) InfsCT17, MD45, NY155, 212, 233, RI15, Black watersnake. .

.

.

black wax n, also attrib Also black waxy chiefly AR, esp nTX Cf waxy

A

dark

soil

which

is

sticky or wax-like.

sOK and

1

An 1949

earthworm.

AmSp

DARE(Qu.

24.106 seGA, ceSC, Blackworm P6) Inf VA41, Blackworm.

.

.

.

Earthworm.

1970

2 Perh a sawfly larva, obs This insect is 1859 Perry Turpentine Farming 106 NC, Black Worm. to be found on green pines in the latter part of spring, from which time, during the remainder of the season, they may be seen wherever scars reach the wood. They commence working on the tender skin, which

—

1

bladder bush

275

passes out with the turpentine, and cakes, getting their growth, which is about the size of a common garden worm, and of the same shape, while at work.

/

blanc-bec

1688 in 1693 Royal Soc. London Philos. Trans. 17.986 VA, I advised her likewise to save, and carefully gather her Indian Corn-tops, and and whatever could be made Fodder. 1724 (1865) Jones blades, and the Present State VA 40, Indian Corn is the best Food for Cattle Blades and Tops are excellent Fodder. 1865 Nation 1 .333 NC, Later in the day they could be seen coming up out of the fields, earning on their heads great stacks of the dried fodder, which is at once stowed away in blade-houses. These are small buildings with walls of logs, between which are left wide apertures for the admission of air, as the fodder is apt The 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Blades to grow musty. leaves of corn pulled and dried for fodder. 1966-69 D.-I.R.ETapeGAl, Fodder, that's the blades off n the corn for feed: KY28. Some just pull the blade off. 1968-70 DARE (Qu. L9b. Hay from other kinds of plants [not grassj) Inf FL50. Used to make hay from blades offa that corn: VA14. Blades and tops. Made from corn: the blades from the ear down, the tops from the ear up. It was cured, bundled, and stacked in the barn to .

.

.

bladder bush See bladder sage bladder campion n Std: a catchfly 1, usu Silene vulgaris which is also called bull rattle, cottonweed 7, cowbell, devil's rattlebox, fairy potatoes, maiden's tears, rattlebags, rattlebox, snappers, white bottle

.

.

bladder parsnip n

A

biscuit root

Lomatium

(here:

1

CA

1911 Jepson Flora

from a thick taproot.

leaves

Open

Bladder Parsnip.

utriculatum).

Many stems and Flora Santa Cruz 261,

303, Bladder Parsnip.

Thomas

1961

grassy slopes

and

.

.

ridges.

bladderpod n

A

1

be used

Also called popweed

plant of the genus Lesquerella.

Bladder-pod. 1901 1857 Gray Manual of Botany 37, Vesicaria Lounsberry 5. Wild Flowers 203. Bladder-pod. Lesquerella Lescurii Pods: inflated: round; two-valved. 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 1 84, There are a good many kinds of LesquerPods roundish, more or less inflated, and giving the common ella name. Bladder-pod. 1973 Hitchcock -Cronquist Flora Pacific .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

NW

171.

stalk of a green onion.

1966-67D.4i?i~"(Qu.

17,

The small plants like onions with hollow green GA8. OK27. Onion blades: TX37,

leaves that are cut up in salad) Infs

Blades.

3 usu as second element in var combs: A tool used to cut vegetation (as grass, weeds, grain). See Map 1954 Harder Coll. cwTN, Briar blade Tool used for cutting briars, weeds, small bushes, and often grain. 1965-70 DARE (Qq. L28. L35, L37) 187 Infs. chiefly Sth. S Midi, (Briar, bush, ditch, grass, mowing, .

2 also bladder-podded lobelia: =Indian tobacco (here: Lobelia

.

like hay.

The

2

.

inflata). sling)

blade [see further in DS]: 2

Infs.

.

.

Blade.

1876 Hobbs Bot. Hdbk. 2, Bladder podded lobelia, Lobelia inflata. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 228, L. inflata Bladder-pod. 1911 Henkel Amer. Med. Leaves 35, Lobelia inflata InOther common names. dian tobacco. bladder pod, low belia. eyebright. 1971 Krochmal Appalachia Med. Plants 164, Common Names: bladder pod, bladderFlowers situated in axils of alternate leaves, the podded lobelia bottom of which greatly inflate in the fruiting stage. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

3 A shrub (Cleome isomeris) native to California and the Desert Southwest which produces inflated pods. Also called burro fat 1897 Parsons Wild Flowers CA 144, Bladderpod ... Its yellow flowers one to it, only to be repulsed by the dreadful odor of its foliage. 1923 Davidson -Moxiey Flora S. CA 161, Bladderpod Pod oval, inflated, coriaceous, tardily 2-valved. 1957 Jaeger N. Amer. Deserts 254. Bladder Pod Common much-branched shrub with yellow wood, ill-scented leaves, handsome yellow flowers, and inflated green fruits ... A favorite source of nectar for bees and hummingbirds. attract

.

.

.

.

.

.

4 =bagpod. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 703, Sesbania vesicaria Bladder1948 Miami (Okla.) D. News-Record 30 June 8/2 (DA), Farmers call it bladderpod, coffeebean and castle-bean. 1970 Correll Plants TX 836, Bag-pod, bladder pod Coastal States, N.C. to Tex. .

.

.

pod.

.

.

.

5 =double bladderpod. 1961 Peck Manual OR Bladder-pod

.

.

.

.

[From the

.

.

Chambers'

inflated

mature

calyx]

A

desert shrub (Salazaria mexicana) of the southwestern US. Also called paper-bag bush 1915 (1926) Armstrong Western Wild Flowers 448, Bladderbush Salazaria Mexicana The calyxes become inflated and form very curious papery globes, over half an inch in diameter. 1925 Jepson Manual Plants CA 865, Bladder Sage Stems several in a cluster, forming a clumpy bush 2 to 4 ft. high. 1981 Benson -Darrow Trees SW Deserts 204, Bladder Sage ... is a common shrub in the Mcjave Desert, and sometimes it forms nearly pure stands. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

bladderscat n [Alter of blatherskite a blustering incompetent person] 1969 DARE (Qu. V2a, can't trust) Inf

TX72,

A

'.

1

1

.

.

1

373. PfhysariaJ Chambersii Silicles densely stellate, strongly inflated.

bladder sage n Also bladder bush

.

4 usu old ~: One's wife. [By ext of blade a woman] joe 1915 DN 4. 8 swVA, Blade Wife. "My old blade's been sick now goin' on a week." 1967-69 DARE (Qu. AA22, Joking names that a man may use to refer to his wife) Infs GA77. TN 5. Old blade old-fash-

—

ioned.

blade fodder n [blade 1 + fodder n 2] chiefly S Midi Corn leaves (and sometimes tops) dried and used as feed

and

cattle

for

horses.

1823 in 1910 Commons Doc. Hist. Amer. Industrial Soc. 1.256 ceTN. For example, the tops are not cut from the corn. The blade fodder only is pulled, and that not always. 1904 (1913) Johnson Highways South 32 seVA, In a few days the "blade fodder" was ready for storage. 1917 DA* 4.408 wNC, KY, Blade fodder. Tops of corn stalks. 1945 Richmond Times Dispatch 26 May 6/7 (Hench Coll.), After the War between the states Corn played the dual role of grain and fodder. When it was ripe, the leaves were stripped off and tied in bunches and hung on the stalk to dry. This was known as blade fodder, and considered fine horse feed. 1 969 DARE FW Addit KY, Blade fodder is cattle feed made from .

.

.

the blades or leaves of a corn plant. .

.

A

deceiving person, or

somebody

that

you

['bljeda^kat].

bladderstem n [From the

inflated hollow flowering stem]

=desert trumpet. 1975 Zwinger Run River 249 LT, The weird bladderstems seem approseems a glorious

priate to this other world, plants so far apart that each

blade-knife n 1970 DARE (Qu. F39. A large pocket knife with blades that fold in and ow0InfsCA205, Snap blade-knife: MA 124, Blade-knife; VA36. Folding blade-knife; VA42, Long blade-knife.

blaggard See blackguard blala See bla

invention.

blade n chiefly Sth, S Midi 1

also attrib:

A

leaf of a corn plant.

blan See belong Al, 2

blanc-bec n Also sp blan-bec [Fr blanc white mouth] West rare or obs

+ bee beak.

nose,

A blanket

276

blanks

/

See quots. 1846

AmSp

1938

in

13.87,

A Missouri voyageur who had never passed

upon his first passing he was subjected to an initiation. 1968 Adams Western Words, Blanc-bec Greenhorn; from the French, meaning white-face.

the Platte was called a Blan-bec; and

—

blanket n also attrib in blanket-piece:

1

whale blubber,

N

chiefly

Atl

Among

whalers: a large strip of

hist

1851 (1976) Melville Moby-Dick 304, The long upper strip, called a blanket-piece, swings clear. 1938 Tripp Flukes 202 New Bedford MA, The big blubber-hook came steadily up the side of the schooner bringing with it the long strip of blubber, termed the "blanket piece." 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 789.4, Blanket, a whale's coating of blubber.

2 also attrib: A beaver pelt, esp a large one. 1954 White Adirondack Country 249 nNY, They tell of the "blankets" the big ones they did get, and how the biggest beaver of all slipped away. 1969 DARE Tape NY 183, They added the length and width and everything over 72 inches they considered a blanket

—

—

.

beaver

.

.

.

It's

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

—

4 also saddle blanket: A dollar bill, joe 1967-68 DARE (Qu. U26, Names or nicknames around here for a paper dollar) Inf IN45, Blanket; TX29, Saddle blanket.

blanket-buck n Also blanket-ass

for

Indians) Inf

.

—

the air a few times.

blanket leaf n Also blanketweed [EDD 1882^] =mullein. 1900 Lyons Plant Names 389, VferbascumJ thapsus [sic] Adam's flannel. Blanket-leaf. 1930 Sievers Amer. Med. Plants 42, Mullein Other common names Old-man's-flannel, blanket-leaf. .

.

.

.

.

derog

and nicknames around here AZ6, Blanket-bucks; TX72, Blanket-ass.

—

.

.

.

blanket

man

See blanket

loggers: see quot. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NYV, Blanket busted who has lost everything on a bet, including his bedroll.

stiff

wrong side of the adv phr Out of wedlock. 1968 DARE (Qu. Zl lb, A child of unwed parents) Infs IN39, Wrong side of the blanket; OH80, Born on the wrong side of the blanket. .

.

blanket-piece See blanket

1

blanket squad n

Among

loggers: see quot. 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Blanket squad A new crew coming in to camp in the old days, each man carrying his blankets.

—

blanket

man

n Also blanket

stiff

LANE Map blanket

swME,

340, chest

.

The map shows cwCT, Blanket

.

.

terms

the

chest

of

and

low

chest,

low chest with a hinged lid. 1951 At the same time, its [=the chest of drawers'] ancestor with drawer beneath was not discarded as obsolete. Known as a blanket chest, it too continued to be made. Ibid 185, EarlyBlanket Chest Made all of maple or pine from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. 1967-68 DARE (Qq. E3, E5) Infs MA5, MI68, OH36, .

.

Blanket

chest, a

Ormsbee Early Amer. Furniture

.

VT8, Blanket

.

1

75,

.

chest.

blanket drawers n

Among loggers:

see quot. Long 1958 McCulloch Woods Words Pacific NW, Blanket drawers handled underwear about of the same itchiness and same thickness as a

—

horse blanket.

blanket fever n 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng and Gt Lakes, Blanket fever Referring to condition of lumberjack who stays in bed in the morning

—

after the other

men

are up. Generally a lazy lumberjack.

blanket flower n [From the similarity of its coloration, often red-and-yellow, to that of an Indian blanket] 1879 Meehan Native Flowers 1 st ser 2. 1 82, In the settled parts of Texas, where some of the species are found wild, the Gaillardia is known as the Blan"Blanketflower." 1900 Lyons Plant Names 166, Gaillardia ket-flower Herbs with large flower heads, the rays occasionally About 20 wanting. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 146 1 Gaillardia 1963 Blanket-flowers. species, all except one North American. First appears Craighead Rocky Mt. Wildflowers 212, Blanketflower .

.

stiff Iramp, laborer]

hobo

chiefly

the multitude of

tramps, the so-called "blanket-men." 1891 man' is known only in California. In the East he would probably be called a tramp But he is not really a tramp. He is one of those hard-working fellows that the conditions of agricultural life in California have called into existence When they have finished the work they pack their blankets and seek occupation elsewhere. 1900 Willard Itinerant Policeman 167 West, Among the "Blanket Stiffs" in the far West there exists a crude system of marking "good" houses. 1935 AmSp 10. 12, Blanket stiff. A hobo or migratory is

The

its

'blanket

.

.

.

.

worker who

.

,

.

—

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

carries a blanket roll

Ploughman

.

,

CA,

.

.

Persists only in

.

hobo

lingo.

1945

know

hardly think they would have wanted to a blanket-stiff, idly dreaming, while his few dollars melted away.

1968

DARE

Service

(Qu.

191

I

HH19, Other words

—

or nicknames for a tramp) Inf

CA87, Blanket stiff carries blankets and change of trusted to do some work.

blanketweed See blanket

clothes; can be

leaf

blankie-lie-low exclam, n See quots for var proncs Also blacka-li-lo [blankie, blacka perh from blackie ref to black sheep + lie low a warning to hiding players] chiefly Nth old-fash Cf black sheep n 1

A call used in a children's hiding game; the game itself; see quots 1901, 1953. 1901 2.136 NY, Black-a-li-lo "In this game the one who is it must find the others by calling out 'holler or I won't foller,' which they must answer by 'black-a-li-lo.' Through the dark and tangled garden the timid hunter must follow that fleeting cry." Marion, Wayne Co., N.Y. In Steuben Co., N.Y., the first cry is "hoop hoop holler or I shan't foller." 1950 WELS (Games in which one captain hides his team and the other team tries to find it) 1 Inf, cWI, ['blaenk o Jailo]. [Infold] 1953 Brewster This game is Amer. Nonsinging Games 50 VT, Blankie Lie Low similar to Run, Sheep, Run in that one group of players hides from the other. In the former, however, all the players of a group hide, and the warning cry "Blankie lie low!" is uttered not by the leader only but by any member of the hiding group. 1966 DARE FW Addit PA, Blankielie-low: a hide and seek game. [Inf 67 years old] 1968-70 DARE (Qu. EE 1 6, Hiding games) Inf PA234, Kids run and hide call out ['blaenc ,3

DN

.

.

.

.

=gaillardia.

.

[blanket (from the freq

+

=bindle stiff. 1872 Powers Afoot 309 CA, One of the notable phenomena of Califor-

.

.

.

.

store bedding, linen, dishes, etc.

long

—

.

— A man

blanket chest n chiefly Nth, esp NEng A large case with a hinged lid and drawers underneath, used to

.

.

.

blanket, on the

AN&Q 7.187/2,

Among

.

.

North

Teale

.

nia

1941

.

West

blanket busted adj

drawers,

.

.

Spring 222, Mullein, that plant of many names blanket leaf, Adam's-flannel was beginning the production of the thick, felty leaves of a new year. 1976 Dodge Roadside Wildflowers 63 SW, Blanketweed Merely a rosette of woolly leaves the first year, each plant produces, the second summer, a flower-dotted stalk 2 to 6 feet tall.

1951

practice of carrying a bed-roll)

An American Indian. 1967-69 DARE (Qu. HH28, Names .

blanket hoist n 1 969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng and Gt Lakes, Blanket hoist punishment as well as a game. If a jack got out of place, other jacks would put him in a blanket, get hold of the sides of the blanket, and hoist him in

extra large.

3 also in combs horse blanket, monkey ~ saddle ~: A pancake. joe Griddle cakes. 1927 DN 5.439 [Underworld jargon]. Blankets 1942 Berrey- Van den Bark Amer. Slang 91.14, Griddle cakes. Blan1967-68 DARE (Qu. monkey blankets, saddle blankets. kets, H20b, What other names do you have for pancakes?) Inf OR1, Horse blankets; VVA30, Monkey blankets or saddle blankets. 1969 Sorden Lumberjack Lingo NEng and Gt Lakes, Blankets Pancakes. .

when Bitterroot is in bloom and elk are calving. 1969 DARE {Qq. S26a, c) Inf NC76, Blanket flowers.

.

.

—

lailo], all after

dark;

WI24,

.

blanks See belong Al

[blaenk Sa lailo]. [Both Infs old]

blanny

277

blanny n [From blarney n by

DN

5.398 Ozarks, Blanny

.

.

.

.

[DN: Blarney?] "Ab

Cajolery.

by using

ingratiate oneself; to apple-polish, esp

flattering

speech.

1968 DARE (Qu. JJ3a, When a schoolchild makes a special effort to 'get hopes ofgetting a better grade: "He 's trying to again. ") Inf IN8, Blanny ['blaeni].

in good with the teacher in '

Al

blare v chiefly Nth, esp

to

low or bleat; hence vbl n blaring.

DN 2.295 Cape Cod MA (as of 850s), Blare calf. 1907 DN 3.181 seNH. 1939 LANE Map 1

.

.

.

.

.

Bellow, of a

fieldworkers,

.

.

.

DN 4.69 ME,

.

.

.

.

.

.

blast n

A severe reprimand, a verbal attack. Cf blast v 1874 in 1 9 1 7 Twain Letters 1 .226, 1 gave the P.O. Department a blast in the papers. 1935 Time 1 1 Mar 23/3, Despite blast and counter-blast between President Roosevelt and Soviet Foreign Minister Litvinoff. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. Y4, .A very uncomplimentary remark) Inf CA59, Blast; (Qu. 1127, A very sharp scolding "I certainly got a 1

cow

194 throughout

.

.

1

,

Blare, a

.

.

New England equivalent not reported by

seems to be the term used by 4 respondents [to a mailed Minnesota, 2 in northern Iowa, and 2 in South Dakota. A 1

checklist], 8 in

Northern bias

is

mouth as if bleating. Spring- Summer 16 nGA, When

1970 Foxfire

fall

Infs

they [=raccoons] first mouth like a possum

over.

To open (the eyes) widely; to stare wildly. [By ext of blare to shine forth brilliantly, to glare] chiefly Sth Cf blared, blare-

4

eyed 1930 Faulkner As I Lay Dying 179 MS, "You won't help me?" Jewel them white eyes of hisn kind of blaring and his face shaking like he had a aguer. 1964 Faulkner Hamlet 309 MS, That varmint in the door behind me blaring its eyes at me. 1981 NADS Letters neLA, Horses eyes often blare, in fear, and sometimes in anger. says,

...

IL30,

5,

1

MD24, MI8

,

1

MA45,

7

1

,

PA

1

62,

Blast.

2 See quot.

1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech, Blast ... A small wood-fire in a "Make a small blast, it is chilly this morning."

fireplace:

3 freq in phr beer blast: A raucous party, spec one at which much liquor or beer is consumed; a drinking bout or binge. chiefly among younger, educ speakers; casual 1963 AmSp 38.171 FL, MI, KS [College jargon], A particularly rough and noisy party: blast beer blast. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. AA 8, A .

1

.

considerable drinking) 22 Infs, scattered, Blast; IL97, INI, 1

OH46, PA223, Beer blast;

98,

TX28, Beer blast; (Qu. FF4,

3 also blare out: See quot. [By ext of blare to sound loudly] 1908 DN 3.291 eAL, Blare (out) ... To break forth in vituperation. "What did you blare out on me for?"

5 See quot. 1912 Green VA Folk-Speech, Blare

.

.

CA

.

.

DD

hit th' fresh air, they'll just blare their

grinnin' an' they'll

WI73,

")

.

noisy neighborhood celebration after a wedding) Infs IL97, 126, Blast; (Qu. 1 6, 7o have a drinking bout and get drunk is to go on a ) Infs FL39, MN28, VA79, Blast; (Qu. DD34, A party at which there is

evident.

distort the

come out an'

.

.

.

1

calf being weaned)

To

blasphemous Cf mischievious Blasphemous. 1914 eAL, wGA, Blasphemious Blasphemous. nNH, Blasphemious adj Pronc-sp for

3.291

for that.

NEng, The map shows the verbs moo, blare, used to designate the sound made by a cow. 1949 Kurath Word Geog. 23, MA, NH, The blare for Merrimack Valley has retained some striking localisms: the loud cry of a calf. 1967-68 DARE (Qq. K19, K21) Inf NV1, Blare; (Qu. K66) Infs M036, NV Blare. 1973 Allen LA UM .252, Bawl (of a

2

DN

1908

NEng Cf blate

1903 or

.

.

Of cows and occas sheep:

1

.

.

blasphemious

blanny v [blanny n]

blants See belong

.

.

Lee's blanny shore did gravel th' school-marm."

To

1950 Gray- Fernald Manual of Botany 450. 1966 Grimm RecAlso known as ognizing Native Shrubs 75, Smilax laurifolia Blaspheme-vine. 1970 Correll Plants TX 41 1, Smilax laurifothe Blaspheme-vine. lia vine.

r-loss]

Ingratiating or flattering speech.

1926

blast

/

To open

wide:

"The door was

blared wide open."

total Infs,

.

NY7,

Kinds ofparties)

.

Dancing parties) Inf PA202,

.

.

(Qu. FF2,

123,

Infs IL98,

Blast.

[Of 34

14 were young, 14 mid-aged, 6 old; 18 were coll educ, 15

high-school educ, 1 grade-school educ] 1968 New York Times (NY) 6 Sept 46/4 NJ, The girls were looking for campus clothes and the first item on their list was pants to wear to "beer blasts and dances."

4 usu in phr have a blast: Fun, a good time, chiefly Nth, N Midi, West, scattered Sth See Map chiefly among younger, educ speakers; casual 1967-70 DARE (Qu. FF17, Words meaning that people had a very good or enjoyable time: "We all had a last night. ") 93 Infs, Blast; Inf TX33, Real blast; NY7, First-class blast; (Qu. FF18, A noisy .

or boisterous celebration or party: "They certainly

.

last night. ")

34 Infs, Had a (big) blast. [Of all Infs responding to these Qq., 1 1% were young, 25% mid-aged, 76% coll or high-school educ; of those giving this response, 36% were young, 32% mid-aged, 92% coll or high-school educ]

blared ppl adj [blare 4] chiefly Sth Cf blare-eyed Of an eye: wide-open, bulging. 1966 DARE (Qu. X21a, What words are used to describe people according to their eyes for example, ifthey stick out?) Inf FL26, Blared eyes. 1973 Foxfire 2 304 nGA, Aunt Arie told us of a neighbor who was shot during a fight and died with his eyes open "blared," she called it. "And you could see th'devil in 'em them fightin', y'know."

—

.

—

—

.

blare-eyed ppl adj [blare 4] chiefly Sth Cf blarey-eyed Having wide-open, bulging eyes. 1964 Faulkner Hamlet 288 MS, Whoa you blare-eyed jack rabbit, whoa! 1 966 DARE (Qu. X2 a, What words are used to describe people

—

1

according to their eyes for example, if they stick out?) Inf MS23, Blare-eyed. 1981 NADS Letters neLA, I have experienced an angry blare-eyed man with a rifle, because I did not survey to suit him.

blarey-eyed adj [Prob

alter

of blare-eyed perh

infl

by bleary-

eyed]

Having eyes which turn outward; walleyed. 1970

DARE (Qu.

X26b, If a person's eyes look

looking outward, he's

)

Inf

NY236,

in different directions,

[blaen]-eyed. [Inf Black]

blast v [blast n 1]

To

scold, slander or attack verbally.

1965 - 70

blarsted See blasted

body^) Infs

blask n [Alter of blast] 1896

DN

1

.4

1

1

.

.

sharp scolding) Inf VA25, Blasted right out.

2 csSC, Blasks: for blasts.

blaspheme vine n [From

DARE (Qu. Y3, To say uncomplimentary things about someCA 5, TN48, Blast; MA72, Blast him out; (Qu. 1127, A very

its

blast

thorny, virtually impenetrable

vines which invite blasphemy]

1943

A

greenbrier (here: Smilax laurifolia). 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 314, SfmilaxJ

intj

Damn!

LANE Map 599 scattered throughout NEng, Expressions 1965-70 DARE Damn, blast. .

as curses or imprecations laurifolia

.

.

Blaspheme-

NN8a)

Infs

IL135, NE10,

.

.

.

.

.

.

OH71, VA99,

Blast;

MI13,

Blast

it;

used (Qu. (Qu.

blasted

blate

/

278

NN8b) 25 Infs, scattered, Blast; (Qu.NN9a) 9 Infs, Nth, N Midi, Blast it; NJ57, OH92, Blast; (Qu. NN9b) 26 Infs, scattered, Blast him; LA32, NC36, NY92, PA 196, WA1, Blast it; HI 13, Blast; IL1 1, Blast his hide; IN83, Blast the luck; (Qu. NN20b) Inf NY230, Blast it; (Qu. NN25a) 15 Infs, scattered, Blast; (Qu. NN26a) Infs M021, NY241, Blast it. blasted

adj,

common

adv Pronc-sp blarsted Also blasting esp

among younger speakers Confounded; damned; awfully. 1854 (1923) Holmes Tempest & Sunshine

145

KY, Lord's sake be spry,

1938 Rawlings Yearling9& FL, Yes, and fatten the blasted fawn and you grow up puny. 1955 Stong Blizzard 12 IA, You expect us to shoo 'em back in this blasted blizzard. 1965-70 DARE (Qu. NN17, "That fly won't go away.') 76 Infs, "/ could have wrung her neck, I was so Blasted; (Qu. LL37, mad. ") 20 Infs, Blasted; 18, Blasting; (Qu. LL36, "I think it's a shame. ") Infs CA22, IL 26, OR TX33, Blasted. [Of all 1 Infs responding to Qu. NN 7, 38% were young or mid-aged; of those giving this response, 55% were young or mid-aged.] for I'm blarsted hungry!

.

.

.

.

MO

.

1

.

1

WA

,

.

,

1

blasting root n

and uvery time

I'd blate

A colicroot

2 (here: Aletris farinosa). 1959 Carleton Index Herb. Plants 14, Blasting

root: Aletris farinosa.

|blaet|

Cf blate

[Imit]

1 Thecryofacalf(occasacow); to make such a sound, chiefly NEast, Gt Lakes See Map and Map Section 1850 Northall Life Yankee Hill 102 MA, Your fellow-countrymen are not allowed to emigrate north of the Columbia River, on .

.

account of a raging he-calf who is bla-ting on the other side. 1892 DN 1.238 MO, Bleating. Generally [blaetirj] in Kansas City. 1907 White AZ Nights 149, Perhaps the calf blatted a little as the heat scorched. 1939 LANE Map 194 throughout NEng, The word blat was recorded four times This word is generally used only of the sound made by calves. Ibid Map 195, The map shows the verbs blat, bellow, used to designate the cry of a calf. 1965 - 70 DARE (Qu. K 19, Noise made by a calfthat 's taken away from its mother) 23 Infs, chiefly NEast, Gt Lakes, Blat; MA68, [blsetin]; [Of all Infs responding to the question, 73% were old; of those giving this resp, 82% were old.] (Qu. K21, The noise a cow makes, calling for her calf) Inf 12, 14, MA5, 1 1, PA 158, 226, Blat. 1973 Allen Blat. 1.251, The noise made by a hungry calf. .

.

[=a fawn] would answer me.

[1870 in

1

884

DN

eAL, wGA, blat n, v

it

Poems 169 cGA, I heerd him bleat / To hisself, like a lamb: "Hauh? nine from eight / Leaves nuthin'."] 1890 DN 1.72 LA, Bleat (with the vowel [e]). 1903 DN 2.306 seMO, Blate. 1908 DN 3.291 Lanier

Blate. 1923 5.201 swMO, Blate. 1938 Rawlings Yearling 98 FL, Yes, and fatten the blasted fawn and you grow up puny. Much as we all got to do, what on earth do you want with one o' them things, blayting around here day and night. 1950 PADS 14.14 SC, Blate To bleat. An upcountry pronunciation. 1965-70 .

.

DARE

.

(Qu. K.66, The noise Blate;

made by a

sheep) 160

Infs, chiefly

Sth,

S Midi,

AR29, IN32, LA40, VA20,

question,

73% were

old;

Blating. [Of all Infs responding to the of those giving this response, 83% were old.]

.

.

.

.

.

1

ME

LAUM

.

.

•blate A1

2

+

var

(Qu. K66)

The cry ofacalf(occasacow);tomakesuchasound. See Map and Map Section Cf bleat

chiefly

Sth

The noise made by a cow. 1965-70 1949/4mSp24.106GA,fi/a/